THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


REMINISCENCES 


Giving  Sketches  of  Scenes  Through  Which 
the  Author  Has  Passed  and  Pen  Por- 
traits of  People  Who  Have 
Modified  His   Life 


BY 

JOHN  MASSEY 


ttiS't!  UCr».    t   u     <-•  ' 

AUG    a  1918 


NASHVILLE,  TENN. 
DALLAS, fTEX.;   RICHMOND,  VA. 

PUBLISHING  HOUsI  OF  THE   M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH 

SMITH    &   LAMAR,   AGENTS 

1916 


COPYRIGHT,  1916 

BY 
SMITH  &  LAMAR 


(Un 

THE  ALUMNA  OF 

TUSKEGEE  FEMALE  COLLEGE 

ALABAMA  CONFERENCE  FEMALE  COLLEGE 

AND 

WOMAN'S  COLLEGE  OF  ALABAMA 

This  volume  is  affectionately  ded- 
icated, with  all  the  royalty  that 
may  accrue  and  with  the  earnest 
desire  that  the  Alumnae  Aisocia- 
tion  may  be  a  great  power  in  keep- 
ing the  work  of  education  thor- 
oughly Christian. 

JOHN  MASSEY. 


CONTENTS. 


PAG*. 
PREFACE  g 

CHAPTER  I. 
Birthplace — Family  Name — Father's  Family — Mother's  Family II 

CHAPTER  II. 

Country  Life — Hunting — Trading  Points — How  We  Preserved  Fire — 
Games — Means  of  Travel — Drinking  and  Fighting 22 

CHAPTER  III. 
Our  Neighbors   33 

CHAPTER  IV. 

My  Early  Education — My  Teachers :  Mr.  John  James,  Dr.  A.  J.  Gra- 
ham, Mr.  James  A.  Kimbrough,  and  Dr.  A.  J.  Allen — My  School- 
mates in  Dr.  Allen's  School — My  First  Attempt  at  Teaching — My 
Second  Attempt  at  Teaching 47 

CHAPTER  V. 

Mr.  George  Frederick  Mellen — Mrs.  Alice  Hayes  Mellen — Experiences 
at  the  Springs — A  Mob — How  to  Destroy  Fleas — My  First  Original 
Speech  58 

CHAPTER  VI. 

My  Third  Attempt  at  Teaching — The  Beginning  of  My  Religious  Life 
— Professor  Seth  Smith  Mellen — Joining  the  Church — Religious 
Experiences — School  at  Choclahana 69 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Debating  Society — Elected  Assistant  Teacher — Burial  of  Mr.  Pierce — 
Miss  Virginia  Shaw,  May  Queen — Political  Speaking — Fourth  of 
July — Trip  on  Horseback — First  Trip  to  Mobile 80 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Mother  and  Brothers — Mrs.  Susan  Huntington  (Bush)  Mellen— Going 
to  College — Dr.  George  Frederick  Mellen — John  Parker  and  the 
Erosophic  Society 89 

(5) 


6  REMINISCENCES. 

CHAPTER  IX.  PAGE. 

Tuscaloosa  and  the  University — Religious  Club — Mrs.  Sarah  Banks 
Sims  98 

CHAPTER  X. 
Dr.  Landon  C.  Garland — Professor  John  W.  Pratt 108 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Professor  George  William  Benagh,  A.M. — Professor  Archibald  J.  Bat- 
tle, A.M. — Professor  William  S.  Wyman,  A.M. — Professor  John 
William  Mallet,  A.M.,  Ph.D. — Professor  Andre  DeLoffre — Professor 
William  J.  Vaughn,  A.M 119 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Colonel  Caleb  Huse — Colonel  James  Thomas  Murfee — Captain  C.  L. 
Lumsden — Captain  J.  H.  Morrison — Organization  of  the  Alabama 
Corps  of  Cadets — Appointed  Cadet  Quartermaster — Dr.  Basil  Manly 
and  Wife — The  Secession  of  South  Carolina 131 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Corps  Presented  to  the  Legislature — The  Trend  of  Affairs — 
Speech  of  Judge  A.  B.  Meek — Lack  of  Vision  in  Our  Leaders — 
Firing  on  Fort  Sumter — The  Invasion  of  Virginia — Sent  to  Mont- 
gomery to  Drill  Troops — First  Visit  to  Prattville — Dr.  S.  P.  Smith — 
Mrs.  Adelaide  Julia  (Allen)  Smith — Promoted  to  State  Lieutenant — 
Sent  to  North  Alabama  to  Drill  Troops — My  Classmates 146 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Going  into  the  Army — Colonel  Henry  W.  Hilliard — Hilliard's  Legion — 
Mrs.  Mary  L.  Parker  Thorington — Colonel  J.  Thorington — Legion 
Sent  to  Chattanooga,  Knoxville,  and  Cumberland  Gap — Experiences 
at  Cumberland  Gap — Excursion  into  Kentucky — Retreat  from  Ken- 
tucky— At  Big  Creek  Gap  during  the  Winter  of  1862-63 — Gracie's 
Brigade  Formed  164 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Encampment  at  Cumberland  Gap — The  Battle  of  Chickamauga 178 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Losses  in  the  Battle — Consolidation  of  the  Legion — Excursion  across 
French  Broad  River — Three  Men  Shot  for  Desertion — Disillusioned 
of  My  Dreams  of  Military  Glory — Return  to  the  University — Captain 
D.  Poynor,  Professor  Crawford  H.  Toy,  Captain  John  Howard  Mur- 
fee, and  Mrs.  Paul  F.  Tricou — Dr.  Thomas  Osmond  Summers — Pro- 
fessors E.  R.  Dickson,  B.  F.  Meek,  and  H.  M.  Somerville — Fight  at 
Chehaw — Corps  Sent  to  Blue  Mountain,  Pollard,  and  Blakely — Sent 
with  a  Guard  to  North  Alabama 191 


REMINISCENCES.  7 

CHAPTER  XVII.  PAGE. 

University  Burned — Members  of  Corps  Wounded — March  to  Marion — 
Corps  Disbanded — Starting  to  Join  General  Lee's  Army — The  As- 
sassination of  President  Lincoln — Back  to  Choctaw  County — The 
School  at  Mount  Sterling — The  Oath  of  Allegiance — Rev.  J.  W. 
Rush — Marriage  to  Miss  Fredonia  A.  Taylor — The  Taylor  Family..  210 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Summerneld — Centenary  Institute — Dr.  A.  H.  Mitchell  and  Mrs.  Fide- 
lia (Douglas)  Mitchell — Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  I.  Harrison — Rev.  and 
Mrs.  Greenberry  Garrett— Dr.  John  S.  Moore— Mrs.  S.  L.  W.  Daniel 
—Dr.  S.  W.  Vaughan 230 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Bishop  James  O.  Andrew — Colonel  Robert  A.  Baker — Mr.  Mark  Can- 
ning and  Wife — Friction  between  the  Races — Personal  Feeling  to- 
ward the  Negroes — Death  of  Mrs.  Fredonia  A.  Massey — Trouble 
among  the  Students — Advice  of  Dr.  Mitchell — Marriage  to  Miss  El- 
nora  Frances  Dallas — The  Dallas  Family — Students  Who  Have  Be- 
come Distinguished — Colonel  Samuel  Will  John 245 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Move  to  Mobile — Mr.  William  Otis — Father  Abram  J.  Ryan — Dr.  E. 
P.  Gaines — Dr.  Jefferson  Hamilton — Dawn  of  a  Brighter  Day  for 
the  South — The  Last  Speech  of  Jefferson  Davis 264 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Move  to  Tuskegee — Lease  of  the  College  for  Five  Years — History  of 
the  College — Dr.  Andrew  A.  Lipscomb — Dr.  G.  W.  F.  Price — Dr. 
Henry  D.  Moore 277 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

My  First  Year's  Experience  in  Teaching  Girls — Miss  Mary  A.  Barker 
— Miss  Mary  Alice  Caller — Dr.  Mark  S.  Andrews — Mr.  William  H. 
Flowers — Miss  Ella  R.  Smilie — Miss  Mary  Belle  Dallas — College 
Sunday  School — Inquiries  Whether  I  Would  Accept  Other  Places — 
Colonel  D.  S.  Troy's  Opinion — Fine  Music  Department 289 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Conditions  That  Favored  My  Work — Loyalty  and  Cooperation  of  My 
Teachers — Professors  of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute — Major 
W.  W.  Screws — Chautauqua,  New  York — Changed  Conditions — 
Woman's  College  of  Alabama — Booker  Washington — Trials  and 
Their  Issue — On  Entering  My  Eighty-Second  Year — Our  Home 304 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
In  Memoriam :  Mrs.  E.  F.  Massey 324 


PREFACE. 

PERHAPS  no  man  in  the  history  of  Alabama  has  lived  more 
usefully  or  labored  more  wisely  and  productively  than  John 
Massey,  the  author  of  this  book  of  reminiscences.  The  volume 
will  yield  both  pleasure  and  profit  to  the  very  large  circle  of 
those  who  have  learned  to  love  and  honor  him  both  for  his  own 
and  for  his  work's  sake. 

That  work  has  been  of  immeasurable  importance  and  benefit 
to  the  people  of  Alabama  and  of  other  States  and  has  already 
during  his  lifetime  borne  much  and  rich  fruit,  which,  we  are 
persuaded,  is  but  the  promise  and  prophecy  of  a  much  larger 
harvest  to  be  surely  reaped  in  future  years  by  the  multitude  of 
men  and  women  he  has  taught,  inspired,  and  guided  in  their 
school  and  college  years  and  that  other  numerous  company  of 
us  who,  outside  the  privileged  circle  of  those  who  have  sat  at 
his  feet  as  students,  have  been  touched  and  influenced  by  the 
example  of  his  life  and  impressed  with  his  high  ideals  and  con- 
secrated devotion  to  duty. 

Dr.  Massey  has  rendered  one  more  distinguished  service  to 
his  people  by  giving  them  this  book.  Its  value  is  manifold. 

It  cannot  fail  to  be  helpful  and  inspiring  to  any  young  per- 
sons who,  struggling  against  obstacles,  however  great  and 
many,  seek  to  secure  an  education  which  will  fit  them  for  hon- 
orable and  useful  life.  The  author  has  himself  faced  these 
difficulties  and  triumphed  over  them. 

The  judicious  character  sketches  of  well-known  men  and 
women  who  have  figured  in  Alabama  and  helped  to  make  the 
history  of  the  last  seventy  years  add  much  to  the  interest  and 
value  of  this  work  and  will  be  useful  to  the  future  historian  of 
the  State. 

All  former  students  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  the  Ala- 
bama Conference  Female  College  (now  the  Woman's  College 
of  Alabama),  and  of  other  schools  in  which  the  Doctor  has 
taught  will  be  peculiarly  interested  in  these  reminiscences  and 
profited  and  pleased  as  they  read  them. 

(9) 


io  REMINISCENCES. 

One  of  the  charms  of  the  volume  consists  in  the  glimpses 
given  the  reader  here  and  there  into  the  heart  of  the  writer, 
revealing  all  unconsciously  the  motives  and  ideals  which  have 
molded  his  character,  shaped  his  life,  and  made  him  what  he  is. 

The  writer  of  this  preface  deems  it  not  out  of  place  to  say 
that  with  characteristic  generosity  the  author  donates  to  the 
Woman's  College  of  Alabama  any  royalties  that  may  accrue 
from  the  sales  of  this  book. 

Assured  that  its  influence  will  be  productive  of  good,  and 
only  of  good,  to  all  who  may  read  it,  the  writer  commends  it 
with  the  wish  that  it  may  be  as  enjoyable  and  profitable  to 
others  as  it  has  been  to  him.  A.  J.  LAMAR. 

NASHVILLE,  TENNESSEE,  April,  1916. 


REMINISCENCES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Birthplace — Family  Name — Father's  Family — Mother's  Family. 

A  BOUT  two  miles  from  the  State  line  between  Alabama 
•*-  *•  and  Mississippi,  twenty  miles  west  of  the  Tombigbee 
River,  and  one  hundred  miles  north  of  Mobile  there  is  a  spot 
that  will  always  live  in  my  memory.  This  was  the  scene  of 
my  childhood,  a  scene  of  sacred  recollections,  as  I  suppose 
every  locality  is  in  which  a  child  first  comes  into  conscious 
being1.  During  the  fourth  decade  of  the  last  century  this  place 
was  in  almost  an  unmodified  state  of  nature.  It  was  not  much 
changed  from  the  state  in  which  it  had  been  familiar  to  the 
Choctaw  Indians — for  how  long,  no  one  could  tell.  The  tribe 
had  been  moved  to  the  Indian  Territory,  though  some  scatter- 
ing ones  still  remained  up  to  the  time  of  my  early  recollection. 

The  place  is  four  miles  south  of  Okatuppa  Creek,  three 
miles  west  of  Puscus  Creek,  and  near  three  smaller  creeks 
called  Ratcliff  Creeks,  which  are  tributaries  of  Puscus.  The 
country  is  hilly,  with  scarcely  a  level  spot,  except  along  the 
hammocks  and  creek  bottoms.  The  original  pines  and  poplars, 
oaks  and  hickories,  chestnuts  and  sweet  gums  were  still  stand- 
ing just  as  they  had  stood  for  decades  and  some  of  them  per- 
haps for  centuries.  There  was  something  awe-inspiring  in  the 
sighing  of  the  wind  through  these  old  giants  o<f  the  woods. 
There  was  a  charm  in  the  undergrowth  of  blackjack  and  dog- 
wood, haw  and  huckleberry,  grape  and  muscadine. 

This  was  the  native  home  of  birds  of  many  varieties  and  at 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  visiting  place  of  great  flocks  of 
wood  pigeons,  blackbirds,  and  wild  ducks.  The  woods  were 
full  of  squirrels,  which  furnished  sport  and  meat  for  the  youth- 
ful huntsmen;  and  raccoons  and  opossums  supplied  game  for 

(ii) 


12  REMINISCENCES. 

the  nightly  hunt.  Flocks  of  wild  turkeys  and  herds  of  nimble- 
footed  deer  were  too  numerous  to  be  counted ;  while  bears  and 
panthers  still  lingered  in  the  big  swamps,  so  well  calculated  to 
inspire  the  imagination  of  a  boy,  whose  pleasure  is  never  great- 
er than  when  mingled  with  a  spice  of  danger. 

The  skies  seemed  brighter  than  they  have  ever  appeared 
since.  The  morning  sun  peering  through  the  trees  had  a  soul- 
stirring  power.  The  golden-tinted  clouds  at  eventide  inspired 
sentiments  that  I  could  neither  name  nor  express.  The  stars 
looked  down  upon  us  mortals  with  twinkling  intelligence.  The 
Milky  Way,  cleaving  the  heavens  with  its  shining  hand,  pro- 
voked many  a  question  as  to  how  it  came  to  be,  just  as  it  had 
evoked  inquiry  from  the  men  of  the  olden  time.  I  asked  many 
an  unanswered  question  of  the  moon  with  her  marvelous  man 
as  she  continued  monthly  to  repeat  the  story  of  her  birth.  Such 
were  the  scenes  of  my  childhood  where  I  dreamed  many  a 
boyish  dream. 

After  an  absence  of  fifty-two  years  I  visited  this  place  in 
company  with  my  daughter  Mabelle  and  Mr.  J.  R.  Land  in 
October,  1910.  I  could  exclaim  with  ^Eneas  as  he  looked  on 
the  pictures  of  his  native  Troy,  whose  glory  had  departed : 
"Quam  mutatus  ab  illo"  ("How  changed  from  the  place  I 
knew  in  my  childhood!")  !  No  familiar  faces  greeted  me,  as 
of  yore.  Every  vestige  of  the  old  homestead  had  vanished. 
Of  the  cedars  under  whose  shade  I  had  spent  so  many  happy 
hours,  there  was  no  sign  remaining.  The  stately  old  trees  that 
stood  hard  by  lived  only  in  my  memory.  I  could  recognize 
nothing  but  the  shape  of  the  ground  and  the  site  of  the  spring. 
Even  the  old  hill  that  used  to  give  plenty  of  room  for  my  boy- 
ish feet  now  seemed  small  and  hemmed  in.  Over  the  spot  hov- 
ers a  melancholy  shadow.  This  change  suggested  by  contrast 
a  brighter  world,  where 

"With  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since  and  lost  awhile," 

and  recalled  the  lines  of  Mrs.  Hemans,  whose  poems  enter- 
tained my  young  mind  in  this  place: 


REMINISCENCES.  13 

"Dreams  cannot  picture  a  world  so  fair; 
Pain  and  parting  never  enter  there ; 
Time  doth  not  breathe  on  its  fadeless  bloom 
Beyond  tlie  stars  and  beyond  the  tomb." 

FAMILY  NAME. 

The  family  name  of  Massey,  as  some  of  the  branches  in 
South  Carolina  and  Pennsylvania  have  traced  it,  is  of  French 
origin.  As  their  account  runs,  our  ancestors  went  from  France 
into  England  with  William  the  Conqueror  in  1066.  The  name, 
they  say,  was  originally  spelled  Masse,  was  later  changed  to 
Massie,  and  finally  into  Massey,  which  is  the  usual  spelling  in 
England,  Canada,  and  the  United  States. 

Whether  our  ancestors  sprang  from  that  irrepressible  strain 
of  Celtic  blood  that  has  survived  in  Devonshire  from  an  un- 
known past  and  produced  Drake  and  Hawkins,  Raleigh  and 
the  Gilberts — the  men  that  first  attempted  to  colonize  the  New 
World — or  whether  they  came  from  Hengist  and  Horsa  and 
their  Saxons  who  invaded  England  in  447,  or  whether  they 
descended  from  Rollo  and  his  Norsemen  who  settled  in  Nor- 
mandy in  876  and  were  transplanted  to  English  soil  in  1066,  I 
know  not  nor  set  any  store  by.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  our 
ancestors  came  from  a  virile  race  holding  the  value  of  liberty 
above  all  other  blessings.  Whenever  they  have  had  a  vision  of 
a  new  land,  they  have  braved  the  dangers  of  the  ocean  and  the 
fury  of  savage  men  to  possess  it.  This  daring  spirit  of  enter- 
prise brought  them  from  England  into  Virginia  and  the  Caro- 
linas,  and  from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas  they  poured  over  the 
mountains  into  the  West  as  far  south  as  the  Mississippi  terri- 
tory. 

My  immediate  ancestors  came  from  South  Carolina  into  the 
"Bigbee  country,"  which  now  constitutes  Washington  and 
Choctaw  Counties,  in  Alabama.  Like  the  Hebrew  worthies  of 
old,  they  plainly  declared  by  their  actions  that  they  were  ever 
seeking  a  better  country.  Carnegie  says:  "The  best  blood  of  a 
nation  emigrates — the  energetic,  the  most  courageous,  the  most 
self-denying,  the  most  hopeful.  The  dullard,  the  laggard,  and 
the  coward  do  not  adventure  much  for  better  things." 


i4  REMINISCENCES. 

Whatever  records  I  had  of  my  immediate  family  were  at  the 
University  of  Alabama  and  were  destroyed  in  the  burning  of 
the  buildings  in  the  early  morning  of  April  4,  1865,  which 
event  will  be  described  later  in  these  reminiscences.  All  the 
accounts  I  can  give,  therefore,  of  my  family  and  my  early  life 
are  dependent  on  my  memory. 

FATHER'S  FAMILY. 

My  father,  Drury  Massey,  was  born  about  the  year  1775  in 
Spartanburg  District  (County),  South  Carolina,  near  the  pres- 
ent city  of  Spartanburg.  He  grew  to  manhood  in  that  section, 
where  he  received  his  two  years  of  schooling  under  Mr.  James 
Threadgill,  who  taught  in  that  district.  I  remember  seeing 
some  of  his  old  copybooks  containing  the  copies  set  by  Mr. 
Threadgill  in  a  very  beautiful  hand.  My  father  had  an  older 
brother  named  John  and  another  named  William.  These  were 
common  family  names,  as  I  learned  from  Governor  A.  B. 
Moore,  who  was  from  Spartanburg  District  and  knew  my  fa- 
ther's family  well.  While  I  was  associated  with  him  in  camps 
of  instruction  in  1861  he  gave  me  some  account  of  my  South 
Carolina  relatives. 

In  his  early  manhood  my  father  moved  from  South  Carolina 
to  Tennessee  and  settled  on  Duck  River.  About  this  time  his 
imagination  was  captivated  by  the  glowing  descriptions  of  the 
Indiana  Territory,  which  was  being  settled.  But  in  the  summer 
of  1813  the  whole  country  was  excited  on  account  of  the 
slaughter  of  the  whites  by  the  Creek  Indians  in  the  Mississippi 
Territory.  So  he  enlisted  in  General  Jackson's  army  and 
marched  to  what  is  now  Alabama  to  fight  the  Creek  Indians. 
On  November  9  the  battle  of  Talladega  was  fought ;  and  on 
March  27,  1814,  occurred  the  most  celebrated  of  all  the  battles 
with  the  Indians,  the  battle  of  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  on  the  Talla- 
poosa  River,  near  the  site  of  Alexander  City.  The  Indians  had 
collected  all  their  forces  in  this  bend  of  the  river,  which  is  in 
the  form  of  a  horse  shoe.  They  had  fortified  their  position  to 
the  best  of  their  ability.  They  were  staking  their  fate  on  this 
battle.  They  fought  with  desperation  until  they  were  all  killed, 


REMINISCENCES.  15 

except  a  few  who  made  their  escape  by  hiding-  in  the  water 
among-  the  brush  on  the  margin  of  the  river.  Their  defeat 
broke  the  power  of  the  Creek  confederacy  and  made  it  much 
safer  for  white  settlers  to  move  into  the  Territory.  In  this  bat- 
tle Jackson  used  some  artillery  against  the  Indians,  who  said : 
"Captain  Jackson  did  not  fight  fair,  because  he  shot  wagons  at 
us."  When  his  cannon  balls  and  grapeshot  gave  out,  he  folded 
up  trace  chains  and  shot  them  at  the  Indians. 

After  destroying  the  Indians  at  Horse  Shoe  Bend,  Jackson 
and  his  army  went  to  Fort  Toulouse,  which  was  founded  by  the 
French  about  a  hundred  years  previous,  near  the  junction  of  the 
Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  Rivers,  a  few  miles  above  the  city  of 
Montgomery.  The  fort  was  thereafter  called  Fort  Jackson. 
From  this  point  Jackson  went  to  Pensacola,  Florida,  where  he 
captured  a  Spanish  fort  which  was  friendly  to  the  English  and 
was  furnishing  the  hostile  Indians  with  guns  and  ammunition. 
At  first  the  Spaniards  refused  to  surrender;  but  when  they  saw 
Jackson's  men  preparing  ladders  to  scale  the  walls  of  their  fort, 
they  ran  up  a  white  flag  and  surrendered,  thus  avoiding  the 
bloodshed  that  would  have  occurred  if  Jackson  had  been  forced 
to  carry  out  his  original  plan.  Soon  after  disposing  of  the 
Spaniards  in  Pensacola,  Jackson  marched  his  forces  to  New 
Orleans,  where  he  defeated  the  British  in  the  celebrated  battle 
of  New  Orleans  on  January  8,  1815.  In  this  battle  Jackson 
had  his  men  posted  behind  breastworks.  He  ordered  them  to 
withhold  their  fire  until  the  British  came  near  enough  to  show 
the  whites  of  their  eyes.  The  Tennesseeans  being  trained 
marksmen,  the  volley  from  their  guns  was  most  deadly  when 
the  order  to  fire  was  given.  The  British  never  recovered  from 
the  first  repulse,  in  which  their  general,  Sir  Edward  Michael 
Pakenham,  was  slain.  Peace  had  been  declared  fifteen  days 
before  this  battle ;  but  neither  army  knew  it,  so  slow  were  the 
means  of  communication  in  those  days.  Sailing  vessels  were 
the  most  rapid  news  carriers. 

Soon  after  the  battle  of  New  Orleans  the  Tennessee  troops 
marched  back  home  through  the  central  portion  of  what  is  now 


i6  REMINISCENCES. 

the  State  of  Alabama,  along  what  was  afterwards  known  as  the 
Old  State  Road. 

Father  was  a  great  admirer  of  General  Jackson.  In  politics 
he  was  a  Jacksonian  Democrat.  To  show  how  widespread  and 
enthusiastic  the  admiration  for  Jackson  was,  I  have  heard  him 
state  with  evident  pleasure  that,  wherever  you  might  go,  you 
would  find  the  country  full  of  little  dirty-faced  children  called 
Andy  Jackson  in  honor  of  the  hero  of  Horse  Shoe  Bend  and 
New  Orleans. 

On  one  occasion  during  the  expedition  against  the  Indians 
and  Spaniards  some  of  the  troops  whose  time  of  enlistment  was 
out  started  home.  The  General  rode  around  and  got  before 
them  and  told  them  in  his  positive  tone :  "By  the  Eternal,  I  will 
shoot  the  first  man  that  moves  forward.  If  you  go  home,  you 
will  go  over  my  dead  body."  They  remained  with  Jackson. 

So  pleased  was  father  with  the  splendid  Alabama  country 
that  he  moved  from  Tennessee  a  few  years  later  and  settled  in 
the  western  part  of  the  Territory,  in  the  upper  part  of  Washing- 
ton County  (afterwards  Choctaw),  where  he  remained  a  quiet 
farmer  to  the  end  of  his  life,  in  1848.  So,  owing  to  the  fact  of 
his  coming  to  Alabama  instead  of  going  to  the  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, I  suppose  I  am  an  Alabamian  instead  of  a  "Hoosier." 

His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Lowry,  by  whom  he  had  three 
children — William,  Dorothy,  and  James.  His  wife  died  when 
the  youngest  was  an  infant.  I  once  heard  him  mention  the 
sleepless  nights  he  had  spent  walking  the  floor  in  watchful 
solicitude  over  this  child  that  was  left  to  his  sole  care.  These 
children  all  grew  to  maturity  and  married.  Dorothy  married 
Mr.  Alfred  Swann.  She  died  early,  leaving  one  child,  Dorothy 
("Dolly")  Swann,  of  whom  I  have  a  pleasant  recollection. 
William  and  James  married  cousins,  each  named  Susanna 
("Susie")  Shoemaker.  They  moved  to  Mississippi  sometime 
after  father's  death,  and  I  never  saw  them  again  after  they 
left  Alabama. 

MOTHER'S  FAMILY. 

My  mother's  family  also  came  from  South  Carolina.  They 
belonged  to  a  race  that  loved  liberty  and  were  of  the  Patriot 


REMINISCENCES.  17 

party  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  people  of  that  col- 
ony were  divided  in  their  sentiments  into  two  parties,  the  Pa- 
triots and  the  Tories.  The  Patriots  were  fighting  for  the  free- 
dom of  the  colonies;  the  Tories  were  the  party  that  still  clung 
to  England.  My  maternal  grandmother,  whose  name  was  Ann 
Vaughn,  was  a  girl  eight  or  ten  years  of  age  and  was  in  a  sec- 
tion that  was  overrun  by  the  belligerents.  So  vivid  was  her 
recollection  of  the  movement  of  the  soldiers  and  the  firing  of 
the  guns  that  she  used  to  entertain  us  with  thrilling  accounts 
of  the  engagements  between  the  British  "Redcoats"  and  the 
ragged  Patriots.  Living  then  in  South  Carolina  was  as  haz- 
ardous and  harrowing  as  it  was  in  the  border  States  during  our 
Civil  War. 

When  my  grandmother  grew  to  womanhood,  she  married 
Mr.  Christopher  Gorham,  by  whom  she  had  four  children — 
Tabitha  ("Bithie"),  Vashti,  Christopher,  and  Sarah.  Several 
years  prior  to  1813  they  moved  from  Chester  District,  South 
Carolina,  to  the  Bigbee  country,  as  it  was  then  called,  in  Wash- 
ington County,  Mississippi  Territory,  and  settled  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mobile  River  just  below  the  "cut-off."  They  came 
all  the  way  from  Central  South  Carolina  in  covered  wagons, 
crossing  the  Chattahoochee  River  near  the  present  site  of  Co- 
lumbus, Georgia,  passing  through  the  Creek  Nation,  which  was 
not  at  all  friendly  to  the  whites.  In  those  days  there  were  two 
lines  of  travel  from  the  East  to  the  Bigbee  country.  One 
passed  by  old  Fort  Mitchell  along  the  Chunnannuggee  Ridge 
in  a  southwesterly  direction  through  the  territory  now  em- 
braced in  Russell,  Bullock,  and  Crenshaw  Counties.  The  other 
ran  farther  north  through  the  place  where  Tuskegee  is  now 
located,  passing  about  ten  miles  east  of  the  site  of  Montgomery. 
Through  this  northern  route  Aaron  Burr  was  carried  from 
Washington  County  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1807;  and 
through  this  it  is  probable  that  the  Gorhams  came  several  years 
later.  They  crossed  the  Mobile  River  near  the  "cut-off." 

The  Bigbee  country  had  captivated  their  imaginations — an 
easy  thing  to  do,  as  pioneer  blood  flowed  through  their  veins. 
Not  a  great  while  after  their  arrival  in  their  new  home  Mr. 
2 


i8  REMINISCENCES. 

Gorham  died  and  left  Mrs.  Gorham  with  her  four  children  to 
be  reared  in  a  rough  and  uncivilized  country  surrounded  by 
ravenous  wolves  and  savage  Indians.  In  the  summer  of  1813 
the  Indians  became  alarmingly  hostile.  The  whites  had  to  go 
into  forts  to  protect  themselves  from  slaughter.  Mrs.  Gorham 
and  her  children  went  into  Fort  Stoddart,  on  the  western  side 
of  the  river,  near  the  present  Mount  Vernon.  Besides  Fort 
Stoddart,  there  was  a  fort  at  Saint  Stephens  and  another  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river  called  Fort  Mims,  from  the  name  of 
the  man  who  owned  the  ferry  at  that  place.  Fort  Mims  at  the 
time  contained  over  five  hundred  people.  Under  the  leadership 
of  William  Weatherford,  the  celebrated  half-breed  chief,  the 
Creek  Indians  butchered  the  occupants  of  Fort  Mims  on  Au- 
gust 30,  1813.  I  knew  an  old  gentleman,  Mr.  Isam  Kimball, 
of  Jackson,  Alabama,  who  was  a  lad  in  the  fort  at  the  time  of 
the  slaughter  and  who  thought  that  he  alone  escaped  to  tell  the 
fearful  story.  A  few  others,  however,  besides  Mr.  Kimball 
made  their  escape.  The  people  in  the  other  forts  were  in  daily 
expectation  of  a  similar  fate.  My  grandmother  had  a  blood- 
curdling recollection  of  those  awful  days  which  she  sometimes 
painted  in  colors  that  made  our  hair  stand  on  end  and  showed 
that  the  country  of  Daniel  Boone  was  not  the  only  section  that 
might  have  borne  the  dreadful  name  of  "Dark  and  Bloody 
Ground."  The  news  of  the  slaughter  at  Fort  Mims  spread  all 
over  the  country  and  brought  armies  from  Georgia,  Missis- 
sippi, and  Tennessee.  This  was  the  occasion  of  the  coming 
of  General  Jackson  and  his  Tennesseeans,  as  stated  above. 

My  Aunt  Tabitha  died  in  her  early  womanhood.  My  Uncle 
Christopher  Gorham  married  and  had  one  son  named  Hebron. 
He  lived  in  what  was  then  Sumter  (now  a  part  of  Choctaw) 
County,  on  Tickumbum  Creek.  About  1845  ne  moved  west 
and  died  some  years  afterwards.  My  Aunt  Sarah  Gorham 
married  a  man  named  Ethelred  Jones,  who  was  called  "Dred" 
Jones.  To  me  he  was  rightly  named  "Dread"  Jones,  for  he 
was  at  intervals  addicted  to  immoderate  drinking.  He  some- 
times came  to  our  house  during  these  spells  and  would  attempt 
to  take  me  in  his  arms  and  make  much  of  me.  On  these  occa- 


REMINISCENCES.  19 

sions  I  would  leave  and  remain  hid  out  until  he  was  gone.  I 
have  had  an  aversion  to  a  drunken  man  ever  since,  a  feeling 
which  I  have  found  difficult  to  overcome  even  when  I  have 
sometimes  had  to  render  assistance  to  my  drunken  friends. 

Mr.  Jones  was  one  of  the  best  farmers  in  all  that  country 
and  commanded  good  salaries  as  superintendent  of  some  of  the 
largest  plantations  in  Mississippi.  His  habit  of  drinking  im- 
moderately at  times  was  his  only  serious  fault.  Mrs.  Jones 
was  a  bright,  cheery  woman  who  bore  the  conduct  of  her 
husband  with  striking  fortitude  and  without  a  word  of  com- 
plaint. She  was  a  faithful  wife  and  mother.  She  had  four 
daughters — Nancy,  Caroline,  Rebecca,  and  Narcissa — who  oc- 
casionally visited  our  home.  She  also  had  one  son,  John,  who 
died  in  early  boyhood.  They  lived  about  twenty  miles  from 
us,  across  the  Mississippi  line.  Some  years  before  the  war  Mr. 
Jones  died;  and  Mrs.  Jones  moved  to  Raymond,  in  Hinds 
County,  Mississippi,  where  I  visited  her  in  the  summer  of 

1857- 

My  father  had  been  a  widower  fifteen  years  when  he  and 
my  mother,  Vashti  Gorham,  were  married.  Upon  their  mar- 
riage they  came  to  live  in  a  log  house  on  the  hill  described  in 
the  first  paragraph  of  these  memoirs.  In  this  house  I  was 
born  on  December  16,  1834.  Soon  afterwards  they  built  a 
new  log  house,  which  was  as  good  as  any  house  in  the  neigh- 
borhood at  that  time.  In  the  new  house  my  brother  Joel  was 
born  in  1836  and  my  brother  Drury  in  1838. 

My  Grandmother  Gorham  made  her  home  with  us  as  long 
as  she  lived.  I  have  overheard  it  stated  in  conversations 
among  the  neighbors  that  I  was  thought  to  be  grandmother's 
favorite.  If  it  was  true,  I  did  not  merit  this  preference. 
Whether  it  was  true  or  not,  I  owe  her  a  debt  of  lasting  grati- 
tude for  her  tender  care  and  entertaining  companionship.  She 
was  my  first  teacher  in  any  matter  pertaining  to  books.  Among 
other  things,  she  taught  me  the  names  of  the  books  in  the  Bible 
in  the  order  in  which  they  stand  in  the  King  James  translation, 
a  knowledge  that  has  aided  me  in  finding  readily  any  book  in 
the  Bible.  If  you  wish  to  live  in  the  pleasant  memories  of 


20  REMINISCENCES. 

people,  teach  children  something  which  they  can  use  advan- 
tageously all  their  lives.  In  the  use  of  this  acquirement  names 
will  come  up  by  the  laws  of  association.  Referring  to  the 
books  of  the  Bible  always  brings  up  the  thought  of  my  grand- 
mother. 

She  was  also  one  of  my  first  teachers  in  morals.  On 
one  occasion  I  had  not  told  the  truth  in  some  matter  about 
which  I  was  questioned.  After  I  had  gone  to  bed  and  was 
supposed  to  be  asleep,  I  overheard  her  tell  mother  that  she 
did  not  care  so  much  about  the  transgression,  but  it  grieved  her 
"to  think  that  John  would  tell  a  lie."  She  said  nothing  to  me, 
but  this  burned  into  my  conscience  like  fire.  She  had  put 
an  emphasis  on  the  turpitude  of  lying  that  I  could  feel.  By 
her  grief  revealed  to  me  in  this  indirect  way  she  had  taught 
me  a  lesson  I  could  never  forget,  a  lesson  which  has  enabled 
me  to  understand  what  true  repentance  is.  When  I  am  con- 
scious that  my  sin  •grieves  God,  I  hate  sin  and  I  wish  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  know  now  that  I  should  have  had 
more  candid,  straightforward  honesty  and  have  gone  to  my 
grandmother  and  confessed;  but  this  is  one  of  the  hard  things 
to  do  in  repentance,  the  thing  which  I  did  not  do.  If  I  had 
done  it,  I  would  have  come  out  into  the  clear  light  of  forgive- 
ness. I  would  have  done  the  only  thing  which  the  sinner  can 
ever  do  to  blot  out  his  sin  and  open  the  way  between  him  and 
his  fellow  men  and  remove  the  cloud  between  him  and  God. 

I  heard  grandmother  refer  with  manifest  satisfaction  to  the 
reputation  she  bore  in  her  earlier  years  of  being  "the  most 
beautiful  woman  that  ever  drank  the  waters  of  the  Bigbee." 
From  the  fine  profile  of  her  Roman  nose  and  well-shaped  fea- 
tures even  in  her  old  age  when  I  knew  her,  I  can  easily  believe 
that  she  was  justly  entitled  to  this  distinction.  I  am  sure  that 
her  character  was  as  beautiful  as  her  physical  form  was  hand- 
some. 

She  and  all  her  family  were  Methodists.  My  mother,  after 
her  marriage,  joined  the  Baptist  Church  to  be  in  the  same 
Church  with  her  husband. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1848,  a  few  weeks  before  father 


REMINISCENCES.  21 

died,  I  heard  grandmother  say  to  him  very  kindly  and  tender- 
ly :  "The  doctor  does  not  seem  to  be  doing  you  any  good.  I 
am  afraid  you  have  not  long  to  stay  with  us.  If  you  have  any 
preparation  to  make,  I  think  you  ought  to  make  it  soon."  He 
said  very  quietly:  "My  preparation  is  already  made.  When- 
ever it  is  the  Lord's  will  to  take  me,  I  am  ready  to  go."  She 
was  evidently  gratified  at  his  reply.  About  one  year  later, 
when  she  was,  I  think,  in  her  eighty-fourth  year,  she  knew  that 
her  departure  was  at  hand.  We  were  all  called  in  to  see  her 
pass  away  as  peacefully  as  if  she  had  been  falling  asleep. 

For  many  years  she  had  not  been  able  to  do  any  work  except 
a  little  knitting,  but  she  was  a  fine  example  of  what  old  people 
can  do.  They  can  shed  a  radiance  over  the  clouds  of  life's 
evening  that  relieves  the  gloom  of  the  coming  night.  They 
should  never  account  themselves  useless  while  God  lets  them 
live. 

"For  age  is  opportunity  no  less 
Than  youth  itself,  though  in  another  dress ; 
And  as  the  evening  twilight  fades  away 
The  sky  is  filled  with  stars  invisible  by  day." 

Most  of  the  country  for  miles  around  was  unsettled  and  was 
covered  by  the  original  forests  that  gave  ample  woods  for  me 
to  roam  in.  It  was  my  great  delight  to  go  with  my  father  or 
any  other  person  out  into  the  woods  hunting  game  or  driving 
up  the  cattle  and  sheep.  This  was  a  delightful  occupation  even 
when  I  was  too  small  to  do  anything  but  keep  close  to  the  heels 
of  some  older  person. 

"There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods"  for  the  humble 
child  of  the  country  as  well  as  for  England's  gifted  poet. 
While  I  have  sometimes  regretted  that  I  did  not  have  better 
educational  advantages  in  my  childhood,  I  am  coming  more 
and  more  to  feel  that,  after  all,  these  wanderings  in  the  woods 
and  these  communings  with  nature  gave  me  more  desire  for 
education  in  later  years  than  I  might  have  had  if  I  had  been 
plied  too  severely  with  educational  methods  and  surfeited  with 
the  very  thought  of  school  life. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Country    Life — Hunting — Trading    Points — How    We    Preserved    Fire — 
Games — Means  of  Travel — Drinking  and  Fighting. 

\T[ 7E  lived  the  simple  rural  life.  We  raised  everything  in 
»  *  the  way  of  provisions  at  home.  Cows  furnished  milk 
and  butter,  and  beef  occasionally.  Hogs  supplied  bacon  and 
lard,  and  spareribs  and  backbones  at  "hog-killing  time."  Sheep 
furnished  mutton  chops  and  wool  for  our  winter  clothing. 
Bees  produced  the  honey  for  sweetening  and  wax  for  candles. 
The  poultry  yard  supplied  eggs  and  chickens  for  frying  and 
chicken  pies.  Deer  furnished  venison  frequently.  Wild  tur- 
keys, partridges,  squirrels,  and  opossums  were  easily  procured 
for  variety  in  the  way  of  meats.  Yams,  Spanish,  white  and 
red  (called  "nigger  killers")  potatoes  were  grown  in  abundance 
and  put  up  in  banks  for  winter  use.  Turnips,  coleworts  (called 
"collards"),  onions,  white  peas,  and  beans  were  the  standard 
vegetables. 

Often  our  meal  was  ground  on  a  hand  mill  made  of  two 
rocks  about  sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  the  lower 
one  fixed  stationary  in  a  section  of  a  large  hollow  tree,  the 
upper  one  made  to  turn  on  a  pivot  and  with  a  hole  in  the  middle 
about  three  inches  in  diameter,  into  which  the  corn  was  placed 
by  the  handful  as  it  was  ground  out  of  the  mill.  The  upper 
rock  was  turned  by  a  staff  sharpened  to  a  point  at  the  lower 
end  and  placed  in  a  small  hole  in  the  edge  of  the  rock  and 
made  to  work  loosely  in  a  hole  some  five  or  six  feet  above, 
which  held  the  staff  stationary  at  the  top.  By  means  of  this 
staff  the  rock  was  turned,  and  the  meal  came  out  through  an 
opening  adjusted  with  a  spout  into  a  vessel  below.  This  grind- 
ing by  hand  was  hard  work  and  was  one  of  the  occupations  of 
my  boyhood. 

There  were  two  water  mills  in  the  country,  one  about  six 
miles  from  us  and  the  other  about  eight.  Another  of  my  occu- 
pations was  "going  to  mill,"  an  occupation  that  could  not  en- 

(22)     ' 


REMINISCENCES.  23 

tirely  be  appropriated  by  Henry  Clay,  "the  mill  boy  of  the 
slashes."  A  bushel  and  a  half  or  two  bushels  of  corn  were  put 
into  a  long  sack,  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  and  placed  upon 
a  horse.  I  rode  upon  the  sack  to  mill  even  when  I  was  so  small 
that  the  miller  had  to  take  the  sack  from  the  horse  when  I 
reached  the  mill.  I  had  to  "take  my  turn."  If  there  were  few 
ahead  of  me,  I  could  get  my  corn  ground  and  return  home 
early;  but  if  there  were  many  ahead,  I  would  sometimes  be  in 
the  night  getting  home.  One  of  the  diversions  while  waiting 
for  my  corn  to  be  ground  was  swimming  in  the  mill  pond.  I 
have  remained  in  the  pond  for  hours,  until  my  back  would  be 
so  blistered  in  the  sun  that  my  mother  would  have  to  grease  it 
with  cream. 

Our  clothing  was  all  made  out  of  homespun  cloth.  This 
was  carded,  spun,  woven,  cut  out,  and  made  at  home.  Many  a 
night  I  have  read  and  studied  by  a  "lightwood"  fire  while 
mother  carded  the  rolls  and  spun  the  thread  which  was  to  go 
into  the  loom  after  it  was  dyed  in  copperas  (reddish  yellow), 
indigo  (blue),  walnut  bark  (dark  brown),  or  sumac  berries 
(dark  red).  I  never  wore  a  store-bought  garment  until  I 
was  quite  a  large  boy.  I  remember  the  first  pair  of  shoes  I 
ever  had,  made  by  my  father,  who  was  the  shoemaker,  cooper, 
and  blacksmith  for  the  household.  "While  we  had  plenty  of  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  we  had  little  money.  I  do  not  think  I 
ever  saw,  all  told,  ten  dollars  in  money  until  I  was  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  old. 

My  earliest  work  on  the  farm  was  dropping  corn  and  peas 
and  thinning  and  hoeing  corn.  As  soon  as  I  was  large  enough 
to  hold  the  plow  handles  I  was  engaged  in  plowing,  of  which 
I  was  very  fond.  As  I  grew  older  I  was  employed  in  clearing 
new  grounds,  burning  brush,  rolling  logs,  splitting  rails,  and 
building  fences.  When  I  was  not  engaged  in  work  at  home  I 
would  work  for  the  neighbors  at  fifty  cents  a  day  if  they 
needed  extra  help  or  on  the  public  road  in  some  one's  place 
who  would  rather  pay  me  than  to  work  himself.  On  one  oc- 
casion I  was  working  on  the  public  road  with  some  twelve  or 
fifteen  others,  some  white  men  and  some  negroes.  Colonel 


24  REMINISCENCES. 

Alfred  Yates  was  superintending  the  work.  Mr.  John  James 
passed  along  and  fell  into  conversation  with  Colonel  Yates. 
They  noticed  how  some  of  the  men  slighted  their  work.  Point- 
ing to  me,  Mr.  Yates  said :  "There  is  a  boy  who  works  well." 
Mr.  James  remarked:  "Yes;  that  boy  always  works  well.  I 
wish  I  had  a  hundred  boys  like  him."  I  think  my  education 
depended  somewhat  on  the  faithful  work  which  I  did  on  that 
road.  This  will  appear  later  in  this  story  of  my  life. 

When  I  was  about  twelve  years  old  my  mother  was  danger- 
ously sick  nearly  all  one  winter  and  was  attended  by  Dr.  Ed- 
mond  P.  Gaines.  For  weeks  I  had  to  rise  early  and  go  three 
miles  to  Dr.  Gaines  to  report  to  him  on  my  mother's  condition 
and  get  medicine  before  he  went  out  on  his  calls  for  the  day. 
In  the  cold  mornings  I  would  be  almost  frozen  when  I  reached 
the  doctor's.  I  shall  never  forget  Mrs.  Gaines's  kindness.  She 
would  have  me  come  in  and  take  breakfast  with  them,  cold  and 
stiff  and  dirty  as  I  was  and  sensibly  aware  of  my  poor  appear- 
ance at  their  fine  table  of  well-dressed  people.  Her  wafers, 
biscuit,  and  coffee  have  a  distinct  place  in  my  memory.  Mrs. 
Dr.  E.  P.  Gaines  is  my  ideal  of  Southern  womanhood.  She 
was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Harry  Toulmin,  of  Mobile.  The  doc- 
tor, when  he  was  my  family  physician  in  Mobile  twenty-eight 
years  afterwards,  frequently  referred  pleasantly  to  our  ac- 
quaintance "up  in  old  Oioctaw."  He  was  a  specimen  of  the 
old-time  aristocracy  of  the  South.  The  Gaines  family  was  a 
large  and  influential  one.  Mr.  George  S.  Gaines  and  General 
Edmond  Pendleton  Gaines,  for  whom  Dr.  E.  P.  Gaines  was 
named,  were  prominently  connected  with  the  early  history  of 
the  State.  Mr.  George  W.  Gaines  was  a  fellow  student  of 
mine  at  Pierce's  Springs,  Mississippi.  A  number  of  the  young- 
er members  of  the  Gaines  families  were  my  pupils  in  the  years 
immediately  succeeding  the  war.  Among  these  I  have  pleasure 
in  mentioning  Mr.  Henry  L.  Gaines,  commission  merchant  of 
Mobile,  Dr.  Vivian  P.  Gaines,  prominent  physician  of  Mobile, 
and  several  of  Mr.  William  D.  Gaines's  children,  formerly  of 
Mount  Sterling,  Alabama,  but  later  of  Texas.  When  I  en- 
tered the  University  of  Alabama,  in  1859,  I  carried  with  me  a 


REMINISCENCES.  25 

complimentary  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Reuben  R. 
Gaines,  who  was  in  1911  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  Texas.  It  has  always  been  a  source  of  pleasure  to  have  had 
good  friends  among  this  distinguished  family. 

HUNTING. 

I  was  taught  to  shoot  with  a  light,  long-stocked,  single- 
barreled,  flint-and-steel  shotgun  when,  I  think,  I  was  not  more 
than  seven  years  old.  Part  of  my  business  during  the  summer 
months  was  to  keep  the  squirrels  out  of  the  cornfield.  So 
numerous  were  they  that  they  would  destroy  nearly  all  the  corn 
for  ten  or  fifteen  rows  around  the  edges  of  the  field.  By  going 
around  it  several  times  a  day,  especially  mornings  and  eve- 
nings, I  could  keep  them  pretty  well  killed  out  and  scared 
off  and  have  plenty  of  squirrels  for  breakfast  every  morning. 
In  the  fall,  when  hickory  nuts  were  maturing  and  chinquapins 
were  opening,  we  had  fine  opportunities  for  hunting  squirrels. 
When  wild  turkeys  came  into  the  fields  to  feed  on  peas,  I 
occasionally  killed  one  with  my  shotgun.  I  killed  my  first 
deer  when  I  was  about  nine  years  old.  This  was  one  of 
the  triumphs  of  my  early  boyhood.  It  was  a  small  deer; 
but  I  was  not  able  to  carry  it  with  my  gun  to  the  house,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  half  a  mile.  After  making  several  attempts  to 
shoulder  the  deer  and  getting  my  clothes  bloody,  I  ran  home 
with  my  gun,  telling  my  mother  in  a  very  excited  manner  that 
I  had  killed  a  deer.  She  laughed  rather  incredulously,  just  as 
some  of  my  good  friends  do  now  when  I  tell  this  story;  but 
when  she  saw  the  blood  on  my  clothes  she  was  convinced.  My 
father  was  out  at  the  time,  but  I  could  not  wait  for  his  return. 
Putting  my  gun  up  in  the  rack,  I  went  back  at  full  speed  to 
find  the  deer  getting  stiff,  so  that  I  managed  to  get  it  up  on 
my  shoulder  and  with  some  difficulty  reached  home  with  it. 
So  proud  was  I  of  this  achievement  that  I  carried  some  pieces 
of  the  meat  around  to  the  neighbors. 

Later,  after  I  had  become  a  good  rifle  shot,  I  discarded  the 
shotgun  almost  entirely.  It  was  so  much  more  pleasure  to  do 
accurate  shooting  with  the  rifle.  I  had  the  art  of  shooting 


26  REMINISCENCES. 

with  the  rifle  so  well  in  practice  that  I  could  shoot  a  squirrel's 
head  off  or  merely  graze  his  head  with  the  ball  just  enough  to 
kill  him.  If  he  were  lying  on  a  limb,  I  could  shoot  under  his 
throat,  tearing  up  the  bark  of  the  limb,  which  would  kill  him 
without  breaking  his  skin.  Thus  the  skill  in  shooting  afforded 
as  much  or  even  more  pleasure  than  the  capture  of  the  game. 

Another  sport  of  the  woods  was  hunting  for  turkeys  in 
"gobbling  time."  But  I  never  was  very  successful  in  calling 
them  up  with  the  yelping  quill.  On  one  occasion  I  saw  a  very 
large  gobbler  fly  up  from  the  woods  and  light  in  a  tall  pine 
about  seventy-five  yards  from  me.  I  took  good  aim,  as  I 
thought,  and  fired.  The  gobbler  fell  flopping  through  the 
limbs.  I  had  almost  reached  the  place  where  he  fell  by  the 
time  he  struck  the  ground.  I  fully  expected  to  take  home  a 
fine  turkey ;  but  I  had  only  broken  one  wing,  about  the  middle. 
As  soon  as  he  hit  the  ground  he  began  running  at  full  speed 
and  I  after  him  at  my  best  speed.  I  gained  on  him  for  a 
while,  until  I  could  almost  strike  him  with  my  gun,  but  he 
could  get  through  the  brush  more  easily  than  I.  So,  after  a 
race  of  several  hundred  yards,  we  began  to  climb  a  big  hill. 
As  his  wind  was  better  than  mine,  he  gradually  gained  on  me ; 
and  by  the  time  I  reached  the  top  of  the  hill  he  was  out  of 
sight,  wing-broken  and,  I  have  no  doubt,  glad  of  his  escape, 
while  I  was  wind-broken  and  very  much  disappointed  at  my 
failure. 

When  I  was  about  twelve  years  old  I  was  out  in  the  woods 
one  morning  looking  for  a  flock  of  turkeys.  I  had  stopped  to 
listen,  when  I  heard  something  that  sounded  like  the  nipping 
of  leaves.  I  discovered  a  buck  deer  with  branching  horns.  I 
took  good  aim  and  fired,  and  as  soon  as  the  smoke  cleared 
away  I  saw  him  struggling  on  the  ground  about  forty  or  fifty 
steps  from  me.  I  waited  until  I  was  sure  that  he  was  dead, 
when  I  approached  and  saw  that  I  had  taken  the  largest  prize 
of  my  life  in  the  way  of  game.  I  then  ran  home,  hallooing 
at  the  top  of  my  voice :  "I've  killed  an  old  buck !" 

"Fire-hunting"  was  another  species  of  deer-hunting  at  night 
that  had  its  fascination.  We  used  a  kind  of  griddle  made 


REMINISCENCES.  27 

of  strips  of  iron  fastened  to  a  wooden  handle  four  or  five 
feet  long  and  filled  with  fat  lightwood  (that  is,  yellow  pine 
rich  in  turpentine),  which  made  a  bright  torchlight.  The 
huntsman  placed  this  handle  over  his  left  shoulder,  putting  the 
light  behind  him.  This  light  would  attract  the  attention  of  the 
deer,  and  as  they  looked  at  the  light  their  eyes  would  shine  like 
balls  of  fire.  The  practiced  huntsman,  even  when  he  could  not 
see  the  deer,  knew  how  to  aim  so  as  to  strike  the  deer  about 
the  neck. 

The  eyes  of  all  animals  shine,  giving  a  different  kind  of  lus- 
ter. It  is  easy  to  distinguish  a  deer's  eyes  from  all  others  ex- 
cept a  horse's,  which  are  slightly  farther  apart  than  a  deer's. 
I  have  heard  old  huntsmen  say  that  they  could  not  distinguish 
the  shining  of  a  colt's  eyes  from  that  of  an  old  buck's. 

Two  gentlemen  in  the  neighborhood  went  into  a  swamp  corn- 
field to  look  for  deer  one  night.  Just  as  they  entered  the  field 
they  shined  the  eyes  of  an  immensely  large  old  buck.  He  was 
so  near  to  them  that  they  could  see  his  whole  form.  The  man 
with  the  gun  and  firepan  aimed  his  rifle,  as  he  thought,  so  as 
to  break  the  deer's  neck.  At  the  "crack"  of  the  gun  the  deer 
fell,  and  the  hunters  ran  to  him  and  with  a  butcher's  knife 
attempted  to  "stick"  him  (to  cut  his  jugular  vein)  to  let  the 
blood  out.  The  buck  kicked  the  knife  out  of  hand  and  be- 
gan to  rise.  The  two  men  grabbed  him  by  the  horns;  but 
he  was  so  strong  that  he  dragged  them  around  in  the  mud, 
put  out  the  light,  and  skinned  their  hands  with  his  rough  horns. 
They  were  afraid  to  turn  him  loose  and  were  getting  awfully 
tired  of  their  predicament.  They  called  long  and  loud  for 
help,  till  at  last  a  man  came  more  than  half  a  mile,  got  a  heavy 
rail  off  the  fence,  placed  it  over  the  deer's  neck  back  of  his 
horns,  and  crushed  him  down  till  they  could  cut  his  throat. 
The  deer's  neck  was  not  broken.  The  ball  had  missed  the  neck 
bone  and  had  only  stunned  him,  but  had  not  deprived  him  of 
his  natural  strength. 

Another  kind  of  night-hunting  of  which  I  was  very  fond 
was  for  possums  and  coons.  This  was  done  by  the  aid  of 
dogs.  A  good  possum  dog  was  a  great  treasure.  The  dogs 


28  REMINISCENCES. 

would  "tree"  the  animals  and  stand  at  the  tree  and  bark  until 
we  came.  Then  we  either  cut  the  tree  down,  when  the  dogs 
would  capture  the  game,  or,  if  the  tree  was  too  large,  we 
would  "shine"  the  animal's  eyes  and  shoot  him  out,  if  it  was  a 
dark  night;  but  if  it  was  a  moonlight  night,  we  would  move 
around  till  we  got  him  between  us  and  the  moon.  In  this 
position  it  was  as  easy  to  shoot  him  by  moonlight  as  by  day- 
light. Sometimes  on  these  possum  hunts  we  would  get  lost 
or  turned  around  so  we  could  not  tell  which  direction  to  go. 
We  would  then  build  a  fire  and  lie  down  until  day  or  wander 
around  until  we  came  to  some  place  we  knew.  Sometimes  our 
sense  of  direction  would  be  so  completely  confused  that  it 
was  with  great  difficulty  that  we  could  believe  our  eyes  suf- 
ficiently to  take  the  right  end  of  the  road.  On  these  pos- 
sum hunts  we  generally  carried  one  of  Mr.  James's  colored 
men  named  John.  We  called  him  "Kimbo."  He  was  a  good 
man,  whom  I  have  always  remembered  with  gratitude  and  af- 
fection. He  took  as  much  care  of  us  as  if  we  had  been  his 
own  children.  With  him  began  my  friendship  for  the  negroes, 
which  still  lives  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  threescore  and  ten 
years.  The  negro  has  wonderful  power  to  attach  himself  to 
the  white  man  when  he  chooses  to  exercise  it,  and  I  do  not 
believe  that  he  will  ever  find  another  man  of  a  different  race 
who  has  as  much  capacity  for  good  feeling  toward  him  as  the 
Southern  white  man. 

Another  form  of  deer-hunting  was  the  "drive."  At  the 
place  appointed  the  huntsmen  would  assemble  with  the  blowing 
of  horns  and  the  barking  of  hounds.  Out  of  the  company  as- 
sembled for  the  drive,  one  would  take  the  dogs  to  the  place 
where  the  deer  were  supposed  to  be.  The  others  would  take 
"stands"  where  the  deer  would  be  apt  to  come  out  when 
"jumped"  by  the  dogs.  When  the  dogs  got  on  the  trail  of  the 
deer  there  would  be  the  greatest  yelping,  which  was  music  to 
the  huntsmen's  ears.  As  the  deer  came  out  the  hunters  would 
fire.  Then,  unless  the  deer  were  all  killed,  the  chase  would 
begin  in  earnest  and  might  last  for  hours,  attended  with  great 
noise  from  the  yelping  of  the  hounds  and  the  firing  of  the 


REMINISCENCES.  29 

guns.  After  the  chase  was  over,  the  game  was  brought  in, 
skinned,  and  the  meat  divided  among  the  hunters.  The  ones 
who  did  the  killing  were  entitled  to  the  skins.  Deerskins  were 
considered  very  valuable.  There  was  an  Indian  in  the  neigh- 
borhood who  dressed  the  skins  and  converted  them  into  fine 
buckskin. 

The  more  formidable  animals,  such  as  bears,  panthers,  and 
wolves,  had  nearly  all  vanished  before  my  hunting  days  began. 
One  of  the  experiences  of  my  father  was  quite  thrilling.  He 
was  riding  through  the  woods  one  day,  when  he  heard  a  great 
disturbance  among  a  drove  of  hogs.  He  rode  up  among  them 
and  was  wondering  what  caused  the  disturbance,  when  sud- 
denly down  tumbled  a  piece  of  pig  from  the  branches  above  his 
head.  He  looked  up  and  saw  a  large  panther  gazing  down  at 
him,  seemingly  just  in  the  act  of  leaping  upon  him.  He  put 
spurs  to  his  fine  mare  and  was  quickly  out  of  danger. 

TRADING  POINTS. 

The  trading  points  of  my  earliest  recollection  were  Priester's 
store,  Barryton,  and  later  Nicholson's  store.  Mr.  Charles 
Priester  had  been  a  merchant  in  Mobile  and  moved  up  into  our 
neighborhood,  where  he  kept  a  country  store.  Barryton  was  a 
village  five  miles  from  Slater's  Landing,  on  the  Tombigbee 
River,  and  had  several  country  stores.  Nicholson's  store  final- 
ly became  the  main  trading  point  for  the  neighborhood.  Most 
of  the  articles  we  bought  came  from  this  store.  In  the  fall  of 
the  year,  however,  some  of  the  people  would  carry  their  cotton 
in  ox  wagons  to  Mobile  and  make  their  more  substantial  pur- 
chases for  the  year.  It  took  about  two  weeks  to  go  to  Mobile 
and  back  in  ox  wagons.  This  trade  with  Mobile  became  more 
frequent  until  the  building  of  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad, 
in  the  early  fifties,  almost  entirely  supplanted  the  wagon  trade. 

How  WE  PRESERVED  FIRE. 

There  were  no  such  things  as  matches  in  that  early  time. 
In  he  winter,  when  we  had  large  fires  made  of  oak  and  hick- 
ory wood,  it  was  easy  to  keep  fire  through  the  night  by  banking 


30  REMINISCENCES. 

the  coals  with  ashes ;  but  in  the  summertime  we  used  flint  and 
steel  to  strike  the  fire  with  and  punk  (called  "spunk")  for  tin- 
der to  catch  and  kindle  the  sparks  into  flame.  Sometimes  we 
took  a  very  small  quantity  of  powder  and  a  wad  of  cotton  and 
struck  the  flint  and  steel  over  it,  the  flash  of  powder  igniting 
the  cotton,  which  was  kindled  into  a  flame.  With  this  flame  fat 
lightwood  splinters  were  lighted.  I  have  started  many  a  fire 
in  this  way. 

GAMES. 

Our  games  were  simple  compared  with  the  highly  developed 
games  o-f  the  present  day.  They  served  well,  however,  for 
sport  and  athletic  exercise.  We  played  "cat,"  "town  ball,"  and 
"bull  pen" — all  of  which  had  some  rules.  We  also  wrestled, 
jumped,  and  ran  foot  races.  I  was  very  fond  of  this  last  form 
of  sport,  because  I  could  excel  in  it.  I  never  did  like  to  engage 
in  anything  in  which  I  could  not  be  among  the  first.  I  met 
only  one  man,  a  Mr.  McKithern,  who  could  excel  me  in  a  reg- 
ular foot  race.  There  was  in  the  neighborhood  an  Indian  by 
the  name  of  Tom  who  taught  me  one  thing  in  the  matter  of 
foot-racing  in  which  I  could  surpass  all  competitors  I  ever  met. 
It  was  this :  Lying  on  my  back,  with  my  head,  my  hands,  and 
my  heels  on  the  ground,  my  competitor  standing  even  with  my 
head,  at  the  signal,  "One,  two,  three,"  we  sprang  forth  and  ran. 
Such  control  had  I  over  my  muscular  system  and  so  well  prac- 
ticed was  I  in  this  feat  that  I  could  leap  forth  at  one  bound  and 
get  even  with,  if  not  ahead  of,  my  rival.  Dice,  chess,  domi- 
noes, and  other  indoor  games  I  never  heard  of  in  my  boyhood. 
This  statement  makes  the  modern  youth  smile  at  his  superior 
advantages  compared  with  the  boy  of  the  backwoods  seventy 
years  ago. 

MEANS  OF  TRAVEL. 

I  never  saw  a  buggy  nor  a  carriage  in  those  primitive  days. 
When  we  did  not  walk,  we  traveled  on  horseback.  The  boys 
and  girls  all  learned  to  be  skillful  riders.  I  remember  distinct- 
ly how  gracefully  the  Misses  Yates,  the  Misses  Pippin,  Miss 
Mahala  James,  and  others  used  to  ride  over  the  neighborhood 


REMINISCENCES.  31 

on  their  fine  horses.  They  would  go  in  a  gallop  up  and  down 
hills  and  over  rough  roads  with  entire  safety.  I  do  not  recall 
that  any  one  was  ever  seriously  hurt,  and  rarely  did  one  fall 
from  a  horse.  At  almost  every  home  and  at  the  churches 
there  were  block  steps  for  the  ladies  to  mount  from.  The  la- 
dies rode  sidesaddles.  There  were  no  such  things  as  "divided 
skirts,"  which,  the  moderns  claim,  enable  ladies  to  ride  so  much 
more  safely  and  gracefully.  But  I  have  not  seen  any  modern 
riding  equal  to  the  skill,  dash,  and  grace  of  the  olden  time. 

DRINKING  AND  FIGHTING. 

In  those  early  days  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  prohibi- 
tion. Every  one  made  as  much  whisky  and  wine  as  he  chose, 
sold  as  much  as  there  was  demand  for,  gave  away  a  good  deal, 
and  drank  to  his  satisfaction.  Some  people  kept  spirits  (usu- 
ally whisky  and  brandy)  on  their  sideboards  all  the  time.  Vis- 
itors could  always  take  a  drink  if  they  desired.  Whisky  was 
nearly  always  used  at  "log-rollings"  and  "house-raisings."  It 
was  thought  to  be  necessary  to  give  vim  and  spirit  in  heavy 
work.  It  was  not  a  very  common  thing  to  see  men  get  drunk 
and  helpless  from  intoxication,  but  it  was  very  common  to  see 
them  become  excited  and  boisterous  and  quarrelsome.  Fight- 
ings and  killings  were  sometimes  the  result,  especially  on  elec- 
tion days.  In  these  fights  the  men  very  rarely  used  guns ;  and 
I  do  not  think  they  carried  pistols,  as  a  rule.  They  generally 
fought  fairly  with  their  fists ;  and  whenever  a  man  was  down 
and  cried  out,  "Enough!  Take  him  off!"  it  was  considered 
dishonorable  to  hit  him  another  lick.  They  did  sometimes, 
however,  fight  with  pocketknives.  We  had  more  fights  then 
than  we  have  now,  but  fewer  killings;  for  the  "pistol-toting" 
habit,  so  far  as  I  knew,  was  not  then  in  vogue.  If  pistols  were 
used  at  all,  it  was  on  dueling  occasions. 

Some  years  later,  about  1852,  the  first  temperance  movement 
was  made  in  Qioctaw  County  by  an  organization  called  the 
Sons  of  Temperance.  This  movement  met  with  favor  among 
the  better  class  of  people  generally,  because  it  was  becoming 


32  REMINISCENCES. 

evident  that  some  restrictions  ought  to  be  placed  upon  drinking 
spirituous  liquors. 

Some  good  angel  sent  by  Providence  must  have  been  over 
me  through  the  perilous  period  of  boyhood.  One  Christmas 
Eve  night  about  half  a  dozen  of  us  boys,  some  older  than  my- 
self, went  out  to  shoot  "Christmas  guns."  We  loaded  our  guns 
heavily  with  powder  and  rammed  a  tight  wad  down  on  the 
powder.  We  would  go  softly  up  to  the  chimney  corner  of 
neighbors'  houses  and  fire  off  these  deafening  volleys,  which 
would  startle  the  inmates.  The  performance  was  generally 
taken  in  good  humor  and  regarded  as  a  boyish  prank.  We 
had  gone  about  two  miles  from  home  on  one  of  these  occasions, 
when  some  of  the  older  boys  pulled  out  some  bottles  of  whisky. 
They  began  drinking  and  handing  it  around.  Till  then  I  did 
not  know  that  they  had  the  whisky.  The  impulse  not  to  drink 
came  over  me  suddenly,  and  I  said :  "I  am  not  going  to  take 
any."  They  said:  "O  yes;  you  must  take  some."  I  stepped 
back  and  said  positively :  "I  am  not  going  to  take  any.  I  will 
go  home  rather  than  do  it."  They  replied:  "O  well,  then, 
don't  go  back.  Come  on  with  us."  I  went  on  with  them,  but 
did  not  take  a  drop.  They  got  "boozy"  and  acted  foolishly 
and,  I  think,  probably  would  have  done  worse  if  I  had  not, 
late  in  the  night,  taken  charge  of  them  and  carried  them  to  the 
house  of  one  of  the  party.  I  was  in  bad  company ;  and  if  I  had 
not  obeyed  my  good  impulse  then,  I  cannot  say  what  might 
have  become  of  me,  for  we  never  know  where  we  may  end 
when  we  start  on  the  downward  road. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Our  Neighbors. 

AS  our  neighbors  and  associates  have  much  to  do  with  shap- 
ing our  lives,  I  will,  for  several  reasons,  refer  to  some  who 
lived  in  our  community :  first,  in  order  to  give  a  picture  of  the 
community  life;  secondly,  to  point  some  moral  lessons;  and, 
thirdly,  to  acknowledge  my  obligations  to  several  who  rendered 
me  great  and  lasting  service.  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  true 
picture  and  at  the  same  time  to  guard  against  any  statements 
that  can  do  any  harm.  We  all  make  our  records  and  leave 
behind  us  our  influence.  If  a  faithful  portrayal  of  our  faults 
and  mistakes  can  do  our  successors  any  good  by  warning  them 
against  like  errors,  we  should  not  object  to  having  them  truth- 
fully stated. 

As  the  years  passed,  more  people  moved  into  the  community, 

built  houses,  and  cleared  land.  Among  them  old  Mr.  S 

and  Mr.  Reuben  Hayes  settled  about  half  a  mile  from  us.  Mr. 
John  James  bought  a  large  tract  of  land  and  built  a  good 
frame  house  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  my  father;  Mr. 
Leander  Jenkins,  two  miles  and  a  half  south;  Mr.  Charles 

P •  and  Mr.  R.  H.  A ,  two  miles  and  a  half  north;  Mr. 

Alfred  Yates,  about  the  same  distance  west.  Later  Mr.  Dennis 
L settled  about  a  mile  east. 

There  was  a  neighborly  spirit  existing  among  these  families. 
Interchange  of  visits  was  free  and  informal.  Taking  meals 
and  staying  all  night  at  neighbors'  houses  were  common  oc- 
currences. These  people  were  not  highly  learned,  except  Mr. 
lames,  but  they  were  kind-hearted  and  honest.  Thev  did  not 

J  J  * 

have  modern  polish,  but  they  had  magnanimous  hospitality. 
They  had  their  sickness  and  their  sorrows,  but  they  had  their 
natural  recreations  and  their  genuine  pleasures.  They  had 
their  trials  and  toils,  but  they  had  their  gladness  "as  in  the  time 
of  the  harvest."  Most  of  them  did  their  own  work  and  knew 
no  such  things  as  the  states  expressed  by  nervousness  and 
3  (33) 


34  REMINISCENCES. 

ennui.  The  history  of  most  of  them  is  the  "short  and  simple 
annals  of  the  poor." 

Mr.  Allen  Y had  come  from  one  of  the  Carolinas,  I 

think,  to  the  Choctaw  Nation,  among  the  earliest  white  settlers. 

He  married  Miss  Millie  N ,  who  was  one-fourth  Indian, 

though  her  complexion  did  not  show  it.  Through  her  Indian 
relationship  and  the  good  management  of  her  brother,  Mr. 

Maurice  N ,  who  was  agent  for  the  Indians,  she  inherited 

a  considerable  body  of  rolling  prairie  land  which  was  exceed- 
ingly fertile.  The  Y s  at  first  lived  in  a  log  house,  which 

\vas  still  standing  when  I  visited  the  place  in  1910. 

Mr.  Y was  a  good  farmer  and  an  energetic  business 

man.  With  his  own  labor  and  that  of  his  first  negro  servant, 
Charles,  he  made  money  rapidly.  With  this  he  yearly  pur- 
chased more  negroes,  by  whose  labor  he  made  more  money  to 
buy  more  negroes.  By  the  time  of  my  earliest  recollection  he 
was  by  far  the  wealthiest  man  of  the  neighborhood.  By 
continued  purchases  and  natural  increase  he  had,  I  should  say, 
more  than  a  hundred  negroes  in  1860.  There  was  in  his  plan- 
tation a  high  knoll  about  half  a  mile  from  us.  From  this  knoll 

I  often  heard  Mr.  Y urging  forward  his  "hands"  in  their 

work.  As  his  fortune  grew,  his  acquisitiveness  grew,  till  mon- 
ey, or  rather  land  and  negroes,  seemed  to  be  the  object  of  his 
ambition.  But  he  failed  to  "make  friends  with  the  mammon 
of  unrighteousness"  and  thus  failed  to  shed  a  cheerful  light 
over  the  close  of  a  career  of  successful  accumulation.  He  was 
found  dead  out  in  his  plantation,  where  two  of  his  negro  wom- 
en had  crushed  his  head  \vith  their  hoes. 

Mrs.  Y was  the  antipode  of  Mr.  Y in  every  respect 

except  industry  and  good  management.  She  was  one  of  our 
best  neighbors.  She  was  a  regular  visitor  at  our  house  and  was 
generous  in  sharing  her  delicacies  when  there  was  any  sickness 
in  the  family.  Though  a  large  woman,  she  would  ride  around 
in  the  neighborhood  on  her  horse  visiting  the  sick  and  making 
herself  friendly  with  everybody.  She  was  a  loyal  Methodist 
whose  kindness  still  lives  in  my  memory  and,  I  have  no  doubt, 
in  the  memory  of  others,  if  any  are  yet  living  who  knew  her. 


REMINISCENCES.  35 

If  not  remembered  on  earth,  I  am  sure  the  recording  angel  has 
registered  her  good  deeds  on  high.  From  her  example  I 
learned  that  wealth  is  not  always  a  hindrance  to  generosity  and 
good  fellowship  among  men. 

Another  of  our  first  neighbors  was  old  Mr.  Dick  A . 

He  was  the  very  opposite  of  Mr.  Allen  Y .  He  seemed  to 

have  no  acquisitiveness  whatever.  He  seemed  intuitively  to 
have  apprehended  Horace's  statement  of  the  lowest  phase  of 
the  Epicurean  doctrine:  "Carpe  diem  quam  minim e  credula 
postero"  ("Enjoy  the  day,  bothering  about  the  future  as  little 
as  possible").  He  reduced  this  doctrine  to  practice.  A  good 
meal  seemed  to  satisfy  him  fully  and  to  turn  his  tongue  loose 
in  a  constant  stream  of  garrulity.  How  a  man  who  had  never 
read  and  never  traveled  knew  so  much  was  a  thing  to  be  won- 
dered at.  He  could  tell  some  of  the  most  marvelous  stories, 
that  had  to  be  taken  with  many  grains  of  allowance  if  one  was 
to  have  any  regard  for  his  reason.  He  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  our  house  and  was  sure  to  make  his  visitations  take  in  at 
least  one  meal,  if  not  two.  My  mother  always  had  plenty  of 

good  fare  and  enjoyed  seeing  her  visitors  relish  it.  Mr.  A 

was  accommodating  and  ready  to  gratify  the  pleasure  she  felt 
in  dispensing  her  hospitality.  His  excuse  in  coming  was,  quite 
often,  to  grind  his  ax  on  our  grindstone,  which  I  had  to  turn 
while  he  ground.  I  did  not  much  enjoy  hearing  the  command : 
"John,  turn  the  grindstone  for  Mr.  A .." 

He  was  one  of  those  primitive  characters  who  seemed  to 
have  no  ambition  for  anything  higher  than  simple  existence. 
He  cultivated  a  little  patch  that  could  not  be  called  a  farm.  If 
he  had  meat,  it  was  killed  in  the  woods  with  his  old-fashioned 
flint-and-steel  rifle.  He  had  several  children — Joshua,  Tom, 
and  others — who  lived  in  a  little  hut  at  the  foot  of  a  big  hill,  in 
the  side  of  which  they  had  excavated  holes  and  covered  them 
over  with  timbers  and  earth.  These  were  prepared  as  a  refuge 
in  time  of  storms,  indicating  that  their  desire  for  life  was  real, 
though  simple.  There  were  many  old  "clay  roots"  in  that 
vicinity,  showing  that  it  had  once  been  visited  by  a  cyclone.  I 
never  knew  whence  they  came  nor  whither  they  went. 


36  REMINISCENCES. 

The  moral  I  would  draw  from  Mr.  A 's  life  is  that  some 

acquisitiveness  is  a  necessary  element  in  human  nature.  A 
person  entirely  destitute  of  it  is  a  worthless  member  of  society. 
The  person  who  has  the  most  of  it  is  prepared  to  be  the  most 
valuable  member  if  he  subordinates  it  to  his  nobler  sentiments. 
He  is  the  more  manly  man  who  strives  for  competency  and  in- 
dependence. He  is  the  better  patriot  who  has  accumulated 
something,  but  who  subordinates  his  love  of  gain  to  his  love 
of  country.  He  is  the  better  philanthropist  who  likes  to  have 
his  business  prosper,  but  who  loves  his  fellow  men  more  than 
he  loves  his  possessions.  He  is  the  better  Christian  whose  ener- 
gies result  in  accumulated  resources,  but  whose  love  to  God 
prompts  him  to  employ  his  resources  in  advancing  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  among  his  fellow  men. 

Old  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S •  were  kind  and  inoffensive  neigh- 
bors. They  were  poor,  though  she  was  the  sister  of  the  wealth- 
iest man  in  the  community.  Their  simple  little  home  had  two 
skeletons  in  it  that  could  not  be  hidden.  They  had  four  sons — 
Alfred,  William,  Joseph,  and  Richard.  Alfred  was  a  normal, 
respectable  man  and  a  good  citizen.  William  and  Joseph  had 
the  smallest  heads  I  ever  saw  on  men  and  were  exceedingly 
defective  in  mentality,  especially  "Joe>"  who  was  scarcely  a 
degree  above  idiocy.  They  were  harmless  except,  perhaps, 
when  roused  to  anger.  They  were  unable  to  do  any  profitable 
work.  William  (called  "Bill")  was  in  the  habit  of  going  out 
into  the  woods  and  talking  to  himself  in  a  loud  voice  for  hours 
at  a  time,  as  if  preaching  to  a  crowd.  Joe  was  still  more  defec- 
tive. His  countenance  and  tones  of  voice  proclaimed  his  im- 
becility. Richard,  the  youngest  son,  was  near  my  age  and  was 
sometimes  a  visitor  at  our  home.  He  was  normal  mentally, 
but  not  strong  physically. 

If  these  old  people  ever  discussed  their  sorrow,  I  never  knew 

it,  though  I  heard  Mrs,  S talk  to  mother  and  grandmother 

many  times.  There  are  some  seemingly  inscrutable  things  in 
human  nature.  Why  did  this  terrible  affliction  come  on  these 
two  old  people?  Why  were  these  dark  shadows  that  could 


REMINISCENCES.  37 

never  be  removed  cast  on  their  home?  If  we  knew  all  the 
facts,  we  might  be  able  to  see  the  cause. 

Old  Uncle  Jimmie  D was  another  interesting  neighbor 

who  seemed  to  have  been  drawn  to  our  home  by  plenty  of  good 
eating  as  well  as  by  a  desire  to  talk.  I  have  always  remem- 
bered him  as  the  biggest  eater  I  have  ever  known.  I  am  reluc- 
tant to  tell  how  much  I  have  seen  him  eat,  it  borders  so  much 
on  the  extravagant  and  seems  so  much  like  a  Munchausen  sto- 
ry. He  would  eat  a  good  part  of  a  basket  of  peaches  before 
dinner  and  then  say  that  they  "only  made  his  stomach  gnaw." 
He  would  eat  a  considerable  part  of  a  country-cured  ham  or 
a  chicken,  and  alternate  with  a  bowl  of  sweet  milk  and  a  bowl 
of  buttermilk  several  times.  He  once  went  to  Nicholson's 
store  (as  the  story  was  told)  and  called  for  a  bit's  worth 
(twelve  and  a  half  cents)  of  coffee  and  a  bit's  worth  of  sugar, 
remarking  that  he  intended  to  "live  while  he  did  live."  Ac- 
cording to  my  best  recollection,  he  died  of  dropsy  and  in  great 
suffering.  He  reversed  the  motto  of  the  old  Greek  philoso- 
pher :  "Live  not  to  eat,  but  eat  to  live."  He  rejected  the  advice 
of  Solomon  :  "Put  a  knife  to  thy  throat,  if  thou  be  a  man  given 
to  appetite." 

Uncle  Jimmie  D was  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church 

and,  I  hope,  was,  after  a  sort,  a  Christian  man.  But  no  man 
can  be  a  clean,  well-rounded  Christian  who  does  not  subordi- 
nate all  of  his  appetites  and  all  of  his  desires  to  the  highest  end 
of  his  being.  Let  young  people  be  assured  of  this:  "Whatso- 
ever a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  For  he  that  soweth 
to  his  flesh  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption;  but  he  that  soweth 
to  the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting." 

Mr.  Charles  P and  Mr.  R.  H.  A were  brothers-in- 
law,  their  wives  being  sisters.  Mrs.  P was  a  very  hand- 
some, bright-eyed,  sunny-faced  woman,  who  dressed  well  and 
was  full  of  good  cheer  and  neighborly  feeling.  Whether  this 
was  natural  with  her,  whether  it  was  owing  to  easy  circum- 
stances and  good  health,  or  whether  it  was  cultivated,  I  never 
knew;  but  the  outward  fact  I  remember  distinctly.  She  had 


38  REMINISCENCES. 

two  sons,  Reuben  and  Henry,  who  were  my  occasional  asso- 
ciates until  they  moved  back  to  Mobile,  whence  they  came. 

Mrs.  A was  the  counterpart  of  Mrs.  P .  Either 

from  ill  health,  the  burden  of  a  large  family,  and  the  pressure 
of  limited  means  or  a  melancholy  disposition,  she  was  a  sad- 
faced  woman  who  evidently  looked  on  the  dark  side  of  life. 
This  was  manifested  in  her  countenance,  her  tones  of  voice,  and 
in  her  readiness  to  see  the  shortcomings  of  other  people.  The 
causes  were  too  deep  for  my  young1  eyes,  but  her  sad  face  is 
before  my  mind  yet.  No  doubt  she  could  have  remedied  some 
of  this  if  she  had  gone  to  the  right  source.  It  is  hard,  however, 

to  rise  above  one's  spiritual  level.  Mr.  A was  of  a  lively 

disposition,  full  of  frolic  and  fun,  and,  to  put  it  in  the  mildest 
term,  sometimes  indulged  in  a  jovial  cup. 

Their  oldest  son,  George,  was  about  my  age  and  was  my 
schoolmate  in  the  neighborhood  and  later  at  Pierce's  Springs. 
He  was  a  boy  of  fine  qualities  and  capable  of  deep  friendships, 
but  was  finally  led  to  ruin  by  speculation.  He  involved  him- 
self and  one  of  his  best  friends  who  went  on  his  note  as  secur- 
ity and  finally  had  to  pay  the  debt,  to  his  financial  embarrass- 
ment. This  noble  friend  stood  by  him  to  the  last.  When 
broken  in  fortune  and  wrecked  in  health  and  nothing  but  death 
staring  him  in  the  face,  George  was  heard  to  say :  "O,  I  wish 
I  had  lived  like  John  Massey !"  Dear  George !  He  possessed 
splendid  qualities.  He  was  my  friend,  but  the  demon  of  "Get 
Rich  Quick"  caused  his  downfall.  I  hope  that  he  got  ready 
for  the  final  summons.  He  is  not  the  only  good  man  I  have 
seen  go  to  ruin  through  speculation.  It  is  a  species  of  gam- 
bling. It  disqualifies  men  for  legitimate  business;  it  under- 
mines their  moral  standards;  it  destroys  their  religious  life;  it 
is  the  deadly  Upas  that  blights  everything  it  touches. 

Mr.  Reuben  Hayes  moved  into  our  neighborhood  when  I 
was  about  nine  years  of  age.  He  was  a  tall,  slender  man,  over 
six  feet  in  height,  with  Roman  nose,  kindly  blue  eyes,  and 
pleasant  expression.  He  was  a  man  of  limited  education,  who 
made  his  living  by  farming  on  a  small  scale.  He  was  a  good 
neighbor,  a  man  of  excellent  character  and  cheerful  piety.  He 


REMINISCENCES.  39 

was  a  good  singer  and  delighted  in  protracted  meetings,  which 
were  frequently  held  in  the  Methodist  churches  in  those  days. 
His  religious  zeal,  however,  was  no  mere  "wet-weather  spring," 
but  flowed  on  through  the  times  of  spiritual  drought  as  well 
as  through  the  flush  times  of  revival.  While  he  was  reverent 
and  sincere  in  his  religious  life,  his  religion  did  not  make  him 
repulsive  to  boys  who  are  quick  to  detect  shams  and  are  easily 
disgusted  with  noisy  pretensions.  To  captivate  boys  we  have 
to  be  "wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves."  Mr.  Hayes 
had  not  forgotten  that  he  had  been  a  boy  himself.  While  he 
never  countenanced  a  thing  that  he  thought  to  be  wrong,  he 
made  no  harsh  criticisms  on  our  innocent  amusements,  but  was 
as  ready  to  participate  in  a  good  joke  as  we  were. 

As  I  grew  older  he  took  special  interest  in  whatever  inter- 
ested me.  He  drew  out  my  plans  in  a  sympathetic,  friendly 
manner  and  did  not  oppose  me  abruptly,  even  when  he  did  not 
think  my  plans  were  the  best,  but  gradually  brought  me  around 
to  his  way  of  thinking.  On  one  occasion,  after  the  death  of 
my  father,  I  was  making  my  arrangements  to  haul  freight 
from  the  river,  a  remunerative  business  for  those  times.  Mr. 
Hayes  did  not  offer  any  objection  to  my  plan  at  first;  but, 
after  some  days  of  waiting,  he  very  kindly  unfolded  to  me  that 
my  associations  would  be  of  a  demoralizing  kind,  that  there 
would  be  nothing  in  the  business  for  me  except  the  money  I 
might  make,  and  that  I  would  be  subjected  to  exposure  from 
camping"  out  on  the  road.  He  finally  prevailed  on  me  to  aban- 
don the  hazardous  undertaking.  He  thus  influenced  me  at  a 
critical  period,  when  to  have  gone  wrong  would  have  meant 
contraction  of  life,  if  not  degradation.  While  he  was  a  man 
of  limited  literary  information,  he  suggested  books  which  I 
read  with  great  profit.  If  I  could  place  a  monument  over  his 
grave,  I  would  inscribe  upon  it :  "They  that  be  wise  shall  shine 
as  the  firmament ;  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever." 

At  the  Missionary  Conference  held  in  New  Orleans  in  1901 
Bishop  Charles  B.  Galloway  took  a  collection  amounting  to 
something  over  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  Soochow  University. 


40  REMINISCENCES. 

I  made  a  subscription  to  it.  When  the  Bishop  called  my  name, 
several  persons  whom  I  had  never  seen  came  forward  and  spoke 
to  me.  Among  them  was  a  very  tall  man,  who  said :  "I  want  to 
shake  your  hand.  Though  I  never  saw  you  before,  you  are  the 
cause  of  my  going  through  college.  I  am  the  son  of  Reuben 
Hayes,  who  knew  the  history  of  your  boyhood  in  Choctaw 
County,  Alabama.  I  had  to  get  my  education  in  the  face  of 
difficulties.  I  was  sometimes  on  the  verge  of  giving  it  up.  My 
father  kept  telling  me  about  your  persistence  till  you  had  gone 
through  college.  Your  example  gave  me  inspiration  to  perse- 
vere till  I  had  done  the  same.  I  am  now  here  to  acknowledge 
my  obligation  to  you  and  to  say  to  you  that  whatever  of  suc- 
cess I  may  have  had  as  a  Methodist  preacher  in  the  Arkansas 
Conference  I  owe  largely  to  you."  Mr.  Hayes  should  have 
gone  behind  me  and  acknowledged  the  debt  to  his  godly  father, 
who  was  instrumental  in  directing  my  youthful  feet  in  the  path 
that  has  led  to  whatever  of  success  I  may  have  been  able  to 
achieve.  Mr.  Reuben  Hayes  was  neither  rich  nor  learned,  but 
he  served  his  generation  better  than  any  other  man  I  knew  in 
my  boyhood.  He  could  be  trusted  with  the  most  sacred  things 
in  life.  Like  Abraham,  he  taught  his  children  to  fear  God  and 
keep  his  commandments.  He  reared  a  large  family  of  excellent 
people  who  are  following  in  his  footsteps. 

Another  neighbor  who  moved  in  soon  after  Mr.  Hayes  was 

Mr.  George  S .    He  was  a  jolly  good  fellow,  who  seemed 

to  enjoy  life  in  all  of  its  more  trivial  phases  and  was  remark- 
able for  two  accomplishments :  he  was  a  noted  country  fid- 
dler and  the  best  rifle  shot  I  ever  knew.  He  was  in  his  native 
element  at  country  dances  and  at  shooting  matches.  He  could 
so  handle  the  violin  as  to  run  a  crowd  of  dancers  almost  beside 
themselves.  He  was  the  biggest  man  in  the  country  on  such 
occasions.  I  was  sometimes  a  visitor  at  his  home  and  have 
heard  him  play,  but  I  was  told  that  it  took  a  crowd  to  put  him 
at  his  best.  I  guess  I  never  heard  him  in  all  his  glory,  for  I 
never  attended  a  dance  in  my  life.  I  was,  however,  indebted 

to  Mr.  S •  for  one  accomplishment  of  which  I  was  very 

proud.     From  him  I  learned  to  be  an  expert  rifle  shot,  as 


REMINISCENCES.  41 

appears  in  my  notes  on  hunting.  I  was  so  accurate  a  shot  that 
I  was  able  to  gain  all  the  prizes  offered  for  the  best  shooting 

when  I  was  a  cadet  in  the  University  of  Alabama.    Mr.  S 

was  naturally  a  highly  endowed  man.  He  was  not  a  bad  man, 
but  he  did  not  take  life  seriously.  He  dismissed  its  most  solemn 
responsibilities  and  gave  himself  up  to  having  a  good  time.  I 
was  told  that  the  latter  part  of  his  life  was  clouded  with  sorrow 
and  disappointment,  as  every  life  must  be  in  which  passing  en- 
joyment has  been  made  the  chief  end.  In  order  to  attain  our 
best  we  must  set  the  highest  ideals  for  our  attainment. 

"Not  enjoyment  and  not  sorrow 

Is  our  destined  end  or  way, 
But  to  act  that  each  to-morrow 
Find  us  farther  than  to-day." 

Mr.  John  James  was  the  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Hayes,  hav- 
ing married  his  sister,  Miss  Susan  Hayes.  He  moved  into  our 
neighborhood  when  I  was  about  ten  years  of  age.  He  bought 
up  several  small  farms,  entered  a  considerable  body  of  public 
land,  and  built  a  frame  house  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
my  father's.  He  cleared  quite  a  good-sized  plantation  on  two 
of  the  Ratcliff  Creeks  and  began  work  as  a  prosperous  farmer 
on  a  larger  scale  than  any  other  man  in  the  community  ex- 
cept Mr.  Allen  Y .  He  was  an  educated  Irishman  with 

very  little  of  the  brogue  and  peculiarities  of  the  "sons  of  Erin." 
He  was  six  feet  in  height,  of  erect  form,  fine  head,  dark  hair, 
large  gray  eyes — a  striking  personality.  He  evidently  had  a 
kind  heart,  but  it  was  not  manifested  in  any  excess  of  senti- 
mental expression.  I  had  a  profound  respect  for  him  which 
amounted  almost  to  fear.  His  kindly  interest  in  me  was  such 
that  my  feelings  would  have  risen  to  something  like  veneration, 
had  he  not  marred  my  admiration  by  occasional  indulgence  in 
that  form  of  dissipation  which  has  blighted  the  lives  of  so 
many  fine  men.  He  was  not  only  an  able  mathematician,  but 
he  was  well  read  in  English  literature.  I  have  heard  it  stated 
that  he  knew  by  heart  many  passages  in  Pope's  translation  of 
the  "Iliad."  When  he  happened  to  be  in  a  jovial  mood,  I  have 


42  REMINISCENCES. 

heard  him  repeat  portions  of  "Tarn  O'Shanter"  and  other 
poems  by  Burns.  He  had  the  only  good  library  in  that  part  of 
the  country. 

Being  an  excellent  surveyor,  he  had  contracts  from  the  gov- 
ernment to  survey  and  plat  much  of  the  public  land  of  South 
Alabama.  Before  coming  to  our  section  he  had  accumulated 
considerable  means.  He  owned  six  or  seven  negroes,  who 
were  just  about  as  free  as  he  and  his  wife  were.  I  never  knew 
him  to  show  the  least  unkindness  to  any  of  his  servants.  He 
gave  his  slaves  parcels  of  ground  and  at  least  half  of  every 
Saturday  in  which  to  cultivate  their  crops.  Their  cotton  was 
ginned  and  packed  at  his  gin  and  sold  along  with  his,  and  the 
proceeds  turned  over  to  them  as  they  called  for  it. 

He  was  a  patriotic,  public-spirited  citizen,  who  took  much 
interest  in  county,  state,  and  national  politics.  He  was  a 
Whig  in  his  party  affiliation.  I  have  heard  him  and  Colonel 
Philip  Gaines  discuss  national  issues  by  the  hour.  In  1850  he 
was  a  candidate  for  the  legislature  as  representative  from 
Choctaw  County.  He  was  defeated  by  Mr.  B.  L.  Turner,  the 
Democratic  candidate.  It  was  reported  to  him  that  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Nicholson,  a  Democrat  and  a  personal  friend  of  Mr. 
Turner,  had  circulated  statements  derogatory  to  his  religious 
character.  Mr.  James  was  so  disappointed  at  his  defeat  and 
so  angered  at  the  reported  statements  of  Mr.  Nicholson  that 
he  went  to  the  latter's  store  and  attacked  him  with  a  heavy 
walking  stick.  As  soon  as  Mr.  Nicholson  could  get  out  oi  the 
store,  assisted  by  his  clerk,  he  went  to  his  house,  about  a  hun- 
dred yards  away,  got  his  double-barreled  shotgun,  which  was 
loaded  with  buckshot,  came  back  to  about  thirty  yards  of  the 
store  where  Mr.  James  was  standing,  and  called  out  to  him, 
saying:  "You  attacked  me  in  my  own  house.  I  am  going  to 
kill  you."  Mr.  James  simply  looked  at  him,  but  never  moved 
a  muscle  nor  spoke  a  word.  He  could  have  stepped  back  from 
the  gallery  inside  the  door  in  which  he  was  standing.  Mr. 
Nicholson  fired  one  barrel,  striking  him  in  the  feet  and  ankles, 
causing  him  to  drop  to  his  hands  and  knees.  He  attempted  to 
rise  and  was  partly  up  when  Mr.  Nicholson  fired  the  other 


REMINISCENCES.  43 

barrel,  striking  him  in  the  head  and  face,  killing  him  instantly. 
His  death  created  a  great  sensation  throughout  the  whole  coun- 
try. It  was  a  matter  of  deep  regret  to  all  parties.  Mr.  Nichol- 
son was  tried  and  acquitted  on  the  ground  of  self-defense. 

Mr.  James  had  five  sons — Thomas,  Daniel,  John,  Charles, 
and  Robert — and  one  daughter,  Mary.  Daniel  was  near  my 
own  age  and  was  my  best  friend.  As  he  grew  up  he  was  sent 
to  the  noted  school  at  Green  Springs  founded  by  Dr.  Henry 
Tutwiler.  Daniel  used  to  tell  me  about  the  wonderful  foun- 
tain of  learning  at  Green  Springs,  which  helped  to  stir  my  am- 
bition for  an  education.  He  used  to  lend  me  books  from  his 
father's  library  and  encourage  me  to  read.  Daniel  James  was 
a  fine  boy.  I  never  heard  him  use  a  vulgar  or  profane  word  nor 
knew  him  to  be  guilty  of  a  base  or  immoral  act.  He  was  a 
handsome  boy,  whose  appearance  in  manhood  was  marred  by 
a  wound  received  in  the  face  during  the  war.  After  the  war 
he  was  made  probate  judge  of  his  county.  He  died  in  1908. 

Thomas  James  assumed  control  of  the  plantation  soon  after 
his  father's  death.  As  is  too  often  the  case  with  young  men 
who  come  suddenly  into  power,  he  failed  to  exercise  that  mod- 
eration which  would  have  marked  the  wisdom  of  more  mature 
years.  I  do  not  know  anything  that  tests  a  young  man  more 
severely  than  to  come  suddenly  into  authority  with  plenty  of 
money.  On  the  other  hand,  no  better  fortune  can  happen  to  a 
youth  than  to  be  compelled  to  grow  slowly  into  the  possession 
of  authority.  The  good  fortune  of  Thomas  James  was,  I 
think,  his  marriage  to  Miss  Sara  Whitlock,  a  beautiful  young 
lady  of  the  neighborhood.  He  moved  to  Mississippi  and 
reared  a  large  family  of  fine  people. 

John,  the  third  son,  went  to  school  a  year  or  two  with  me  at 
Pierce's  Springs.  He  made  a  splendid  soldier  and  was  killed 
because  he  would  persist,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  his  friends, 
in  raising  his  head  above  the  breastworks  at  which  the  enemy 
were  firing. 

Several  years  after  the  death  of  Mr.  James  Mrs.  James 
married  Mr.  Leander  Jenkins,  several  of  whose  children  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  mention  in  the  chapter  on  my  education.  Mrs. 


44  REMINISCENCES. 

James  was  an  excellent  woman,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
numberless  acts  of  kindness.  She  always  treated  me  as  one  of 
her  own  sons. 

About  the  time  that  Mr.  James  moved  to  our  vicinity  Mr. 
Alfred  Yates  married  Miss  Martha  Evans  and  built  a  frame 
house  about  two  miles  west  of  my  father's.  Mr.  Yates  had 
only  a  common  school  education ;  but  he  was  a  man  of  good 
natural  ability,  was  public-spirited,  and  engaged  in  all  the  en- 
terprises of  the  neighborhood.  He  was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason, 
a  Whig  in  politics,  in  which  he  was  much  interested,  though  he 
never  ran  for  any  public  office.  While  not  an  orator,  he  was 
always  ready  to  take  part  in  public  exercises,  such  as  reading 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  introducing  public  speakers, 
and  performing  any  other  services  required.  While  he  had 
never  connected  himself  with  any  Church,  he  was  ready  to  aid 
in  Church  enterprises  and  was,  I  believe,  a  regular  attendant 
at  Church  sendees.  He  was  a  man  of  energy  and  industry,  a 
successful  farmer,  and  was  accumulating  property  rapidly  up 
to  the  time  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  Mrs.  Yates  was, 
like  her  husband,  interested  in  all  the  public  movements  in  the 
neighborhood.  As  she  had  no  children  and  owned  a  fine  sad- 
dle horse,  she  spent  a  good  deal  of  her  time  in  looking  after 
the  welfare  of  her  neighbors.  Mr.  Yates  was  considered  a 
close  business  man  who  never  wasted  any  money  on  trivial 
things.  Yet,  as  will  appear  in  these  pages,  he  and  his  wife 
were  very  generous  toward  me. 

Another  very  interesting  occasional  visitor  at  our  house, 
though  not  of  our  immediate  vicinity,  was  Uncle  Mosie  Shoe- 
maker. He  was  a  clean,  bright  man,  quick,  energetic,  pious, 
public-spirited,  and  a  great  Baptist,  who  went  to  all  the 
meetings  and  associations  in  the  whole  country  for  miles 
around.  In  passing,  he  and  his  wife,  who  rode  horseback, 
always  spent  the  night  at  our  house.  He  conducted  family 
prayer  when  he  was  present.  Though  not  a  preacher,  he  still 
stands  out  in  my  memory  as  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew. 
He  was  a  man  of  lively  spirit  and  an  incessant  talker,  though 


REMINISCENCES.  45 

his  talk  was  always  pure  and  without  guile.  On  one  occasion 
some  person  was  inclined  to  challenge  the  correctness  of  some 
statement  made  by  Uncle  Mosie.  A  friend  of  his  remarked: 
"O  well,  you  know  that  any  one  who  talks  as  constantly  as 
Uncle  Mosie  makes  mistakes  sometimes."  No  one  ever  doubt- 
ed his  sincerity  and  honesty. 

The  last  time  I  saw  him  I  met  him  in  the  road  one  evening 
when  he  was  returning  from  a  meeting.  He  was  so  nearly 
blind  that  he  did  not  know  me  until  I  told  him  who  I  was.  He 
then  struck  me  across  the  shoulder  a  hard  rap  with  his  riding 
whip,  making  some  pleasant  and  affectionate  remarks  about 
my  getting  too  big  to  recognize  old  friends.  I  wish  all  of  the 
old  acquaintances  who  live  in  the  memory  of  those  early  days 
could  come  up  with  as  pleasing  and  kindly  recollections  as 
Uncle  Mosie  Shoemaker. 

Now  I  have  to  record  a  recollection  of  a  different  kind.  As 
has  been  stated,  Mr.  Dennis  L came  into  our  neighbor- 
hood and  settled  about  a  mile  east  of  us.  The  family  consisted 
of  himself,  his  wife,  and  one  son  about  twenty  years  of  age. 
They  were  Irish  people  who  had  lived  sometime  in  Halifax, 

Nova  Scotia,  before  they  came  to  Alabama.  Mrs.  L was 

a  kind-hearted  woman  in  whom  I  saw  nothing  bad.  Mr. 

L was  very  fond  of  whisky,  though  I  never  saw  him 

"dead"  drunk.  John  W.  L ,  the  son,  was  a  young  man  of 

good  intellect  and  considerable  education,  but  he  was  very  pro- 
fane and  obscene.  I  have  often  wished  that  I  could  blot  out 
all  memory  of  his  profane  and  obscene  expressions  and  vile 
conduct.  He  afterwards  professed  conversion  and  became  a 
Methodist  preacher.  In  the  estimation  of  some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  he  equaled  Dr.  Thomas  W.  Dorman,  the 
presiding  elder,  in  his  eloquence.  But  it  was  a  kind  of  elo- 
quence that  lacked  the  ring  of  deep  sincerity.  He  soon  aban- 
doned the  ministry  and  went  on  the  stage.  Like  the  glare  of  an 
exploded  skyrocket,  he  went  out  and  was  heard  of  no  more. 

Innocent  country  life,  like  the  Garden  of  Eden,  is  too  often 
marred  by  the  spirit  of  evil.  It  seems  necessary  that  there 


46  REMINISCENCES. 

should  be  some  place  from  which  sin  is  excluded.  This  place 
is  not  found  in  the  country.  It  is  not  found  in  the  city.  Only 
heaven  is  secure  against  the  malign  influence  of  the  wicked, 
who  must  become  fit  for  heaven  or  be  annihilated  or  be  con- 
fined in  some  prison  house  for  the  detention  of  the  hopelessly 
incorrigible. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

My  Early  Education — My  Teachers :  Mr.  John  James,  Dr.  A.  J.  Graham, 
Mr.  James  A.  Kimbrough,  and  Dr.  A.  J.  Allen — My  Schoolmates  in 
Dr.  Allen's  School — My  First  Attempt  at  Teaching — My  Second  Attempt 
at  Teaching. 

AS  already  stated,  my  grandmother  taught  me  the  first 
things  I  learned  from  books.  My  education  in  spelling 
and  reading  began  when  I  was  about  six  years  old.  From  a 
Webster's  blue-back  spelling  book  my  father  taught  me  the 
alphabet.  He  continued  to  teach  me  until  I  was  between  eleven 
and  twelve  years  of  age.  In  the  summer  of  1846  I  went  to 
school  three  months  to  Mr.  John  James,  who  has  been  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  chapter.  This  was  the  first  school  that 
had  been  taught  in  our  vicinity  for  several  years.  There 
had  been  a  school  sometime  earlier,  taught  by  an  Irishman 
named  Michael  Hennessee.  Mr.  Hennessee  taught  the  "three 
R's"  very  thoroughly,  as  was  reported,  by  the  lubrication  of 
"hickory  oil";  but  it  never  fell  to  my  lot  to  have  any  of  this 
knowledge  dispensed  by  Mr.  Hennessee. 

As  has  been  stated,  Mr.  James,  my  first  teacher,  was  also  an 
Irishman.  He  was  now  teaching  a  summer  school  for  the 
benefit  of  his  own  sons  and  the  other  boys  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, embracing  an  area  some  five  or  six  miles  in  diameter. 
The  school  was  taught  in  an  old  log  residence  about  half  a 
mile  from  Nicholson's  store,  on  the  Barryton  Road  and  about 
three  miles  from  our  house  and  Mr.  James's.  Inside  of  the 
house  there  was  a  long  table  on  which  we  wrote  from  copies 
set  by  Mr.  James,  who  wrote  a  very  neat  running  hand.  He 
made  our  pens  out  of  goose  quills  and  sharpened  them  when 
necessary  with  a  penknife  which  he  kept  for  the  purpose.  If 
there  were  any  such  things  as  steel  pens  then,  I  never  heard  of 
them. 

There  was  a  piazza  in  front  of  the  house  facing  the  public 
road,  which  ran  about  forty  yards  from  the  house.  The  teacher 

(47) 


48  REMINISCENCES. 

usually  sat  or  walked  on  this  piazza  as  he  heard  the  lessons. 
We  were  at  liberty  to  study  out  in  the  grove  or  anywhere,  just 
so  we  had  our  lessons  well  prepared  and  were  on  hand  prompt- 
ly when  the  class  was  called.  The  one -thing  above  all  else  re- 
quired in  this  school  was  good  lessons.  The  lessons  must  be 
learned.  The  penalty  of  idleness  was  the  hickory  freely  ap- 
plied, a  penalty  I  never  had  to  suffer.  Mr.  James  told  my  fa- 
ther that  he  was  surprised  to  find  me  as  far  advanced  as  I  was. 
He  did  not  expect  me  to  know  anything.  My  father  informed 
him  that  he  had  been  teaching  me  at  home  for  several  years. 
I  owe  much  to  this  beginning  of  study  at  home.  I  believe  that 
if  more  parents  were  as  much  interested  in  the  education  of 
their  children  as  my  father  was  and  would  give  as  much  at- 
tention to  it,  we  would  have  less  illiteracy.  I  sometimes  thought 
it  hard  to  be  required  to  study  in  my  odds  and  ends  of  time, 
especially  when  the  other  boys  would  come  and  call  me  out  to 
play.  I  had  to  get  the  lessons  first,  and  then  I  could  play. 

Back  of  the  schoolhouse  in  which  Mr.  James  taught  was  a 
deep  ravine,  and  about  a  hundred  yards  distant  was  a  spring. 
It  is  amusing  to  think  how  very  thirsty  we  got  and  how  often 
we  had  to  go  to  the  spring.  Hard  study,  especially  studying 
out  loud,  as  we  frequently  did,  must  be  a  very  thirst-producing 
exercise.  I  have  often  observed  since  I  have  been  a  teacher  the 
same  tendency  in  pupils  to  go  out  for  water.  I  learned  in  later 
years  that  this  tendency  is  not  altogether  bad.  It  enables  them 
to  use  the  three  remedies  against  disease  once  recommended  by 
a  celebrated  English  physician.  On  his  deathbed  he  had  his 
medical  friends  called  in  and  told  them  that  he  had  to  go  the 
way  of  all  of  his  predecessors,  but  that  he  had  the  consolation  of 
knowing  that  he  would  leave  behind  three  of  the  best  physi- 
cians that  had  ever  been  known  among  men.  The  doctors  all 
drew  near,  hoping  that  the  worthy  three  might  be  found  of 
their  number.  They  eagerly  leaned  over  to  catch  the  names 
from  the  lips  of  their  dying  friend :  "Pure  Water,  Fresh  Air, 
and  Regular  Exercise." 

My  studies  during  the  first  summer  session  with  Mr.  James 
were  spelling,  reading,  and  writing.  The  spelling  book  was 


REMINISCENCES. 


49 


Webster's  blue-back.  The  readers  were  the  New  York  Read- 
ers— First,  Second,  and  Third.  They  contained  excellent  se- 
lections of  prose  and  poetry.  Mr.  James  was  a  good  reader 
himself  and  paid  particular  attention  to  the  reading  of  his 
students.  I  have  often  wished  to  see  those  old  readers  again, 
but  have  not  been  able  to  find  a  single  copy.  They  seem  to 
have  gone  with  the  past  generation  of  men. 

The  next  summer,  1847,  Mr.  James  taught  in  a  new  school- 
house  in  a  more  central  location,  about  two  miles  from  us. 
During  this  session  I  began  grammar  and  arithmetic.  We 
used  a  new  series  of  readers,  just  published,  by  Dr.  W.  H. 
McGuffey,  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  I  was  very  much 
interested  in  grammar  and  reading,  and  everything  moved  on 
smoothly  as  far  as  I  was  concerned.  Some  of  the  children 
were  tallow-faced  and  sickly  looking.  I  think  the  trouble  may 
have  been  caused  by  hookworms,  though  hookworms  and  mi- 
crobes had  not  yet  been  discovered.  Some  of  the  pale,  sickly 
looking  children  were  accused  of  "eating  dirt,"  which  was  as- 
signed as  the  cause  of  their  poor  health.  Mr.  James  was  a  man 
fertile  in  expedients.  He  had  a  large  bottle  filled  with  vine- 
gar, rusty  nails,  and  I  know  not  what  else,  and  dosed  the  ca- 
daverous-looking children  with  this  medicine  every  day  after 
dinner.  He  called  that  class  up  in  a  row  and  gave  each  a 
spoonful.  They  improved  very  much  under  this  treatment.  I 
suppose  my  appearance  was  not  such  as  to  indicate  the  need  of 
this  remedy,  as  I  was  not  subjected  to  an  application  of  it. 

In  the  summer  of  1848  my  father  died  after  a  lingering  ill- 
ness of  more  than  a  year.  The  management  of  the  farm  and 
the  responsibility  of  making  a  living  now  devolved  entirely 
upon  me,  as  had  largely  been  the  case  for  more  than  a  year. 
He  was  a  quiet,  good  man,  who  had  seen  his  most  active  days 
before  I  could  remember.  He  did  the  best  he  could  in  educat- 
ing his  children.  He  did  more  personal  work  in  teaching  us 
than  any  other  man  I  ever  knew  outside  of  the  teacher's  pro- 
fession. Without  his  persevering  and  painstaking  instruction 
I  could  not  have  made  as  good  a  start  in  school  as  I  did.  He 
did  not  leave  us  any  money ;  but  he  left  us  the  richest  inherit- 
4 


50  REMINISCENCES. 

ance  any  man  can  leave  his  children:  the  memory  of  a  quiet, 
peaceful,  and  godly  life.  I  shall  never  know  how  much  I  lost 
by  not  having  his  paternal  care  and  guidance  through  the  peril- 
ous years  of  boyhood.  Since  his  death,  in  my  fourteenth  year, 
I  have  acted  mainly  on  my  own  initiative.  As  I  did  not  always 
act  wisely,  I  am  sure  that  I  would  have  done  worse  but  for  the 
judicious  counsel  of  good  friends.  Emerson  said  that  two 
good  angels  guarded  his  youth — poverty  and  work.  I  had  the 
same  two  guardian  angels.  I  think  it  took  more  than  these 
two  to  keep  me  from  going  to  the  bad. 

I  was  very  much  impressed  at  this  time  by  Mr.  James's  kind- 
ness. He  encouraged  me  to  get  lessons  at  night  and  go  to  his 
house  and  recite  to  him  once  or  twice  a  week  during  the  fall 
and  winter.  This  help,  with  the  use  of  his  library,  kept  alive 
my  interest  in  study.  I  had  to  work  very  hard  on  the  farm 
during  the  day  in  order  to  make  a  living.  I  could  not  have 
gone  to  school  even  if  there  had  been  any.  While  looking  over 
his  library  I  found  a  copy  of  the  early  statutes  of  Alabama  in 
which  was  recorded  the  charter  of  the  State  University.  As  I 
read  it  I  had  an  anxious  wish  that  I  might  some  day  be  num- 
bered among  its  students.  But  this  looked  like  an  impossible 
dream  hidden  away  among  the  mists  of  the  unknown  future. 

DR.  A.  J.  GRAHAM,  MY  SECOND  TEACHER. 

Largely  through  Mr.  James's  influence  the  people  of  the  com- 
munity employed  for  the  year  1848-49  a  teacher  by  the  name 
of  Dr.  A.  J.  Graham.  Dr.  Graham  dressed  well,  wore  a  tall 
silk  hat,  and  had  the  reputation  of  being  very  learned.  But  he 
had  a  temper  that  corresponded  well  with  his  red  face  and  hair 
and  sharp,  aquiline  nose.  Under  him  I  studied  grammar,  read- 
ing, spelling,  arithmetic,  and  Mitchell's  geography  and  atlas, 
a  finely  illustrated  book  for  that  day.  This  opened  to  my  mind 
the  wonders  of  the  great  world  in  which  we  live. 

Dr.  Graham  had  two  boys  studying  Latin — Thomas  and  Wil- 
liam West.  That  was  my  first  knowledge  that  there  was  any 
other  language  than  English.  As  I  listened  to  the  boys  stand- 
ing up  before  Dr.  Graham  with  wriggling  hands  and  contorted 


REMINISCENCES.  51 

features  over  the  conjugation  of  the  verb  amabani,  amabas, 
amabat,  amabamus,  amabatis,  amabant  (placing  the  accent  on 
the  last  syllable),  I  think  the  language  would  have  sounded  as 
strange  to  Cicero  or  Horace  as  it  did  to  me.  The  pronuncia- 
tion in  Dr.  Graham's  school  had  far  outrun  the  ancient  Latin 
pronunciation  and  had  not  caught  up  with  the  modern  Roman 
method. 

Owing  to  my  mother's  ill  health  and  the  necessity  of  making 
a  crop,  my  attendance  was  very  irregular  through  the  session. 
I  think  I  did  not  go  more  than  two  or  three  months,  but  I  read 
and  studied  at  home. 

During  this  year  one  striking  event  occurred  at  Christmas, 
when  the  boys  "turned  Dr.  Graham  out."  He  was  not  willing 
to  give  more  than  one  day's  holiday,  and  the  boys  wanted  a 
week.  On  Christmas  Eve  morning  we  all  went  to  the  school- 
house  before  daylight,  barred  the  door  (there  was  only  one), 
and  waited  for  the  Doctor  to  come.  About  eight  o'clock  he 
came  riding  up  with  his  dinner  bucket  in  his  hand,  hitched  his 
horse  as  usual,  and  started  toward  the  door.  We  all  crowded 
around  him  and  made  known  our  request  for  a  week's  holiday. 
He  flatly  declined  to  grant  it.  As  we  persisted  he  became  very 
angry  and  swore  that  he  would  not  give  it.  He  turned  away 
from  us  abruptly  and  started  to  enter  the  door.  When  he 
found  it  barred,  he  gave  it  a  hard  kick.  Abel  Campbell,  one  of 
the  young  men,  caught  him  from  behind  and  lifted  him  off 
the  doorsteps  and,  holding  him  around  the  waist,  said:  "Now, 
come  on,  boys,  if  you  want  a  holiday."  The  leaders  in  the 
business  told  the  Doctor  that  we  would  take  him  down  to  the 
branch  and  duck  him  if  he  would  not  grant  our  request.  He 
still  declined  and  clawed  the  skin  off  Abel's  hand  until  it  bled 
freely ;  but  we  told  him  that  there  was  no  use  in  resisting,  that 
we  did  not  wish  to  use  any  violence,  but  that  we  were  deter- 
mined to  have  the  holiday,  and  that  we  would  duck  him  in 
the  branch  until  he  consented.  After  some  parleying  he  relent- 
ed and  agreed  to  give  us  the  week.  He  very  soon  got  in  a  good 
humor.  When  we  opened  the  door,  he  called  us  all  in  and 


52  REMINISCENCES. 

made  a  little  talk,  saying  that  he  had  gotten  mad  and  spoken 
hastily  and  requested  us  to  say  nothing  about  it. 

I  did  not  enjoy  the  week's  holiday,  for  I  was  afraid  that  Mr. 
James  would  disapprove  of  the  whole  proceeding.  I  did  not 
care  so  much  what  Dr.  Graham  thought  as  I  dreaded  Mr. 
James's  disapprobation.  This  prank  would  never  have  been 
attempted  on  Mr.  James.  There  were  not  boys  enough  in 
Choctaw  County  to  turn  him  out.  He  never  yielded  to  any 
opposition  nor  quailed  before  any  danger.  In  spite  of  his 
faults,  my  heart  grows  warm  with  admiration  to  this  day  over 
the  memory  of  his  manliness  and  his  kindness.  But  for  him 
and  his  library  I  might  never  have  made  my  way  to  a  college 
education.  Sixty  years  after  his  death  I  looked  in  vain  for  his 
grave,  though  I  remembered  well  its  location.  I  would  gladly 
have  placed  a  lasting  memorial  over  it.  My  gratitude  to  him  is 
tempered  with  an  emotion  of  sorrow.  He  was  too  noble  to 
have  had  his  sun  blotted  out  at  midnoon. 

MR.  JAMES  A.  KIMBROUGH,  MY  THIRD  TEACHER. 

For  some  reason  Dr.  Graham  was  not  engaged  for  another 
year.  During  the  summer  of  1850  Mr.  James  A.  Kimbrough 
taught  the  school.  Mr.  Kimbrough  was  a  clean  young  man  of 
fairly  good  English  education.  I  was  interested  in  my  studies 
and  received  valuable  help  from  him.  I  wish  it  borne  in  mind 
that  I  got  all  my  early  education  either  at  home  or  in  country 
schools  during  the  summer  months  after  the  crop  was  laid  by. 

DR.  A.  J.  ALLEN,  MY  FOURTH  TEACHER. 

Dr.  A.  J.  Allen  was  my  next  teacher.  He  was  a  small  man 
with  one  weak  arm,  from  what  cause  I  do  not  know.  He  had 
a  fine  head  and  face,  keen  black  eyes,  long  hair  tinged  with 
gray  and  parted  in  the  middle  like  Milton's,  as  shown  in  pic- 
tures. He  was,  I  guess,  between  fifty-five  and  sixty  years  of 
age.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis. 
He  was  a  scholarly  man  and  a  gentleman,  whose  only  fault, 
so  far  as  I  knew,  was  the  habit  of  drinking  too  much  at  times, 
though  I  never  knew  him  to  be  under  the  influence  of  liquor 


REMINISCENCES.  53 

during  school  hours.  It  was  always  a  mystery  why  so  able  and 
cultivated  a  man  should  be  teaching  a  little  country  school  out 
in  the  backwoods.  I  suspect  that  it  was  due  to  his  one  weak- 
ness, the  love  of  drink. 

He  had  recently  married  a  young  wife  about  twenty  years 
of  age.  They  boarded  at  Mrs.  James's,  Mr.  James  having  been 
killed  the  year  before.  I  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  James 
home  and  had  a  good  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with 
the  Doctor,  so  far  as  an  ignorant  country  boy  could  know  a 
well-educated  man.  He  was  kind  enough  to  give  me  some  di- 
rection in  my  reading.  Among  the  first  books  he  recommended 
was  Scott's  "Ivanhoe."  He  was  fond  of  talking  about  "Tom" 
Jefferson  and  induced  me  to  read  some  of  Jefferson's  letters 
which  were  in  the  library. 

MY  SCHOOLMATES  IN  DR.  ALLEN'S  SCHOOL. 

After  the  crop  was  laid  by  in  the  summer  of  1851,  I  entered 
Dr.  Allen's  school,  in  the  Jenkins  neighborhood,  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  home.  This  school  was  composed  of  both 
sexes  and  all  ages  from  ten  years  up  to  grown  young  men  and 
women.  Among  the  young  men  were  James  and  Joseph  Jen- 
kins; among  the  larger  girls  were  Misses  Isabel  and  Mary 
Jenkins  and  Dolly  Swann.  James  Jenkins  was  considered  an 
advanced  scholar.  He  had  been  attending  school  elsewhere  and 
was  studying  algebra,  on  whose  marvelous  beauties  he  used  to 
expatiate  freely.  He  showed  me  how  he  could  take  two  small 
letters  (x  and  y)  and  expand  them  until  the  work  would  cover 
both  sides  of  his  slate.  He  said  it  was  beautiful — a  thing  I 
could  not  understand  then  and,  I  suppose  for  lack  of  mathe- 
matical vision,  I  have  not  been  able  since  fully  to  appreciate, 
though  I  have  worked  through  several  higher  algebras,  taking 
in  the  binomial  theorem,  theory  of  equations,  and  all.  Joseph 
Jenkins  dressed  well,  wore  a  tall  silk  hat,  and  seemed  to  appre- 
ciate his  own  beauty  more  than  the  beauties  of  algebra. 

My  studies  were  arithmetic,  grammar,  geography,  writing, 
and  spelling.  Neither  in  this  school  nor  in  those  I  had  attend- 
ed before  was  I  ever  hurried.  I  did  not  have  to  cram  to  keep 


54  REMINISCENCES. 

up  with  any  class,  but  worked  at  each  subject  until  I  thought  I 
understood  it.  If  I  did  not  understand  any  part  of  a  subject, 
the  teacher  was  at  hand  always  ready  to  explain.  In  those 
early  schools  I  formed  the  habit  of  never  feeling  satisfied  to 
leave  behind  me  any  part  of  a  subject  that  I  did  not  understand. 
I  think  this  habit  was  one  of  the  best  things  I  acquired. 
We  had  spelling  lessons  daily,  such  as  the  latter-day  teachers 
sometimes  look  upon  with  slight  respect.  We  had  parsing  les- 
sons too,  selected  from  Milton,  Shakespeare,  the  Bible,  and 
other  portions  of  literature.  We  wasted  some  time  on  these 
exercises,  no  doubt ;  but  we  learned  to  construct  sentences  and 
to  appreciate  the  force  of  words.  I  do  not  know  that  I  have 
ever  considered  this  time  lost,  though  some  of  it  might  per- 
haps have  been  more  profitably  spent  in  stimulating  our  minds 
to  take  a  wider  view  of  good  literature. 

One  of  my  schoolmates  at  this  time  was  pretty  Miss  Isabel 
Jenkins,  with  dark  brown  hair,  bright  hazel  eyes,  fair  skin, 
white  teeth,  and  dimpled  cheeks  and  chin.  She  was  sweet, 
smiling,  graceful  sixteen;  and  I  simple,  susceptible,  green  sev- 
enteen. At  first  I  only  thought  that  she  was  neat,  not  pert, 
not  forward,  just  modestly  good-looking.  I  felt  no  special 
interest  in  her  more  than  in  the  other  boys  and  girls.  Upon 
due  acquaintance  she  had  me  "work  her  hard  sums"  and  parse 
her  difficult  sentences.  As  a  reward  for  these  services  she 
sometimes  gave  me  a  flower  or  an  apple.  She  took  pains  to 
show  in  modest  ways  her  appreciation  of  my  ability  and  went 
so  far  as  to  express  this  to  others  who  were  kind  enough  to 
make  it  known  to  me.  Not  through  any  fault  of  hers,  of 
course  (as  her  winsome  ways  were  natural),  she  grew  more 
beautiful  and  fascinating,  until  I  began  to  feel  that  there  never 
could  be  another  girl  so  lovely.  But,  owing  to  my  bashfulness 
and  her  artfulness,  we  continued  without  progress  or  regress 
for  two  or  three  months,  when  it  gradually  became  painfully 
evident  to  me  that  she  was  as  much  interested  in  two  or  three 
other  fellows  as  she  was  in  me  and  that  she  had  too  much  sense 
to  think  of  waiting  for  a  penniless  plowboy  to  attain  to  man- 
hood and  to  acquire  a  competency.  This  discovery  was  a  great 


REMINISCENCES.  55 

disappointment.  It  did  not  break  my  heart,  as  I  thought  it 
would,  but  it  did  break  the  spell  of  Cupid's  dream.  It  stung 
my  pride  and  stirred  my  ambition.  Instead  of  committing  sui- 
cide or  drowning  my  disappointment  in  dissipation,  I  deter- 
mined to  rise  out  of  my  unsatisfactory  condition.  The  only 
way  I  saw  of  doing  this  was  through  education.  I  was  fond 
of  reading  and  study,  but  I  think  there  was  a  motive  other  than 
simple  love  of  knowledge  that  stimulated  me  to  make  the  effort 
in  the  face  of  seemingly  insurmountable  difficulties.  As  it 
turned  out,  I  had  a  long,  hard  road  of  fifteen  years  of  school, 
college,  and  war  experiences  to  travel  over  before  I  could,  with 
any  reason,  assume  the  responsibility  of  taking  care  of  a  fam- 
ily. Even  if  Miss  Isabel  had  been  sufficiently  interested  (I  am 
glad  she  was  not)  to  think  of  waiting  fifteen  years,  I  suspect  I 
would  have  grown  from  her  unless  she  had  been  inspired  with 
other  aspirations  than  most  young  people  entertain  in  their 
days  of  changeful  susceptibility.  For  since  I  came  to  myself 
I  have  never  had  more  than  a  passing  fancy  for  any  woman 
who  did  not  possess  more  than  ordinary  culture  and  force  of 
character.  I  am  glad  that  my  good  angels  of  poverty  and 
work  enabled  me  to  pass  through  the  susceptible  period  oi 
youth  so  that  I  did  not  become  the  drudge  of  circumstances  of 
my  own  improvident  making;  that  I  have  been  left  free  to 
place  myself  under  elevating  influences  which,  I  believe,  have 
not  been  exercised  altogether  in  vain.  I  hope  that  Miss  Isabel 
found  the  man  of  her  choice,  that  her  married  life  was  a  happy 
one,  and  that  she  was  ready  to  answer  the  final  summons  which 
came  to  her  years  ago. 

As  the  spring  of  1852  came  on  I  had  to  stop  school  and  go 
to  work  to  make  a  crop.  In  addition  to  corn,  fodder,  potatoes, 
and  other  produce,  we  made  a  small  crop  of  cotton,  which  I 
sent  along  with  a  neighbor's  load  of  cotton  to  Mobile.  With 
part  of  the  proceeds  I  bought  the  following  books:  Milton's 
"Paradise  Lost,"  Young's  "Night  Thoughts,"  "Newton  on  the 
Prophecies,"  "Mrs.  Heman's  Poems,"  and  "Lord  Chesterfield's 
Letters  to  His  Son."  I  selected  these  books  upon  the  rec- 
ommendation of  my  friend  Mr.  Hayes,  who  had  consulted 


56  REMINISCENCES. 

Rev.  Paul  F.  Stearns  about  what  books  I  should  buy.  I  read 
all  of  these  books  very  attentively  and  thought  I  understood 
them.  I  guess  it  is  a  good  thing  that  young  people  have  some 
conceit,  for  it  would  be  paralyzing  to  turn  upon  them  all  at 
once  a  full  knowledge  of  their  verdancy. 

MY  FIRST  ATTEMPT  AT  TEACHING. 

In  the  fall  I  was  induced  by  Mr.  Hayes  to  teach  a  little 
school  in  the  community.  When  I  told  him  that  I  doubted  my 
qualifications  for  teaching,  he  informed  me  that  Mr.  James  had 
spoken  to  him  so  favorably  of  my  ability  that  he  was  sure  that 
I  could  teach  the  school,  which  would  not  be  composed  of  any 
advanced  students.  He  gave  me  a  copy  of  a  contract  in  Mr. 
James's  handwriting,  from  which  I  wrote  out  some  articles  of 
agreement  between  myself  and  the  patrons  and  entered  upon 
what  was  destined  to  be  my  profession,  as  will  appear  in  this 
history  of  my  life.  I  lived  at  home  and  for  the  first  month  col- 
lected the  magnificent  sum  of  seven  dollars  and  twenty-five 
cents !  The  wonder  is  that  I  did  not  quit  the  business  of  teach- 
ing forever.  I  trust  I  may  be  pardoned  for  saying  that  two 
of  my  life  principles  have  been  to  persevere  in  whatever  I 
have  undertaken  and  to  keep  my  contracts.  The  following 
months  I  did  somewhat  better  in  the  way  of  collections. 

Among  the  pupils  of  this  my  first  school  was  Miss  Fannie 
Hayes,  the  oldest  daughter  of  my  good  friend  Reuben  Hayes, 
a  girl  of  twelve  years,  a  modest,  ladylike  girl,  who  set  a  fine 
example  to  the  younger  students.  After  the  lapse  of  sixty- 
two  years,  I  received  a  letter  from  her  signed  "Mrs.  Fannie  H. 
Cochran,"  in  which  she  said  that  she  was  prompted  to  express 
her  appreciation,  before  it  became  too  late,  of  what  I  had  done 
for  her  in  the  long  ago.  I  know  that  my  instruction  was  im- 
mature, my  manners  those  of  an  unpolished  country  boy ;  but 
if  I  conducted  myself  in  such  a  way  as  to  have  caused  this 
good  woman's  respect  and  gratitude  to  live  through  all  the 
wrecks  of  these  sixty-two  years,  I  am  deeply  grateful.  I  am 
sure  that  our  friendship  will  not  end  with  the  few  fleeting  days 
that  may  remain  to  us  here. 


REMINISCENCES.  57 

In  the  spring  of  1853  I  went  about  three  months  to  Dr.  Al- 
len, who  had  moved  to  another  neighborhood  five  miles  from 
my  mother's.  I  walked  this  distance  every  morning  and  eve- 
ning over  a  very  hilly  road.  During  this  term  I  studied  ele- 
mentary geometry  and  surveying,  in  addition  to  some  of  the 
studies  I  had  formerly  gone  over.  While  the  course  in  survey- 
ing was  very  elementary,  I  found  I  had  learned  enough  about 
the  subject  to  do  plain  surveying  quite  accurately  when  I  had 
occasion  to  put  it  into  practice.  I  wish  to  acknowledge  my 
obligation  in  this  connection  to  Dr.  Allen,  who  soon  passed  out 
of  my  knowledge. 

MY  SECOND  ATTEMPT  AT  TEACHING. 

During  the  summer  and  fall  of  1853  I  taught  another  school 
in  our  vicinity.  Some  of  my  pupils  had  been  my  fellow  stu- 
dents under  Dr.  Graham  and  Mr.  Kimbrough.  In  this  school 
I  had  two  or  three  young  ladies  older  than  myself.  In  justice 
to  them  I  wish  to  state  that  their  demeanor  was  excellent  and 
that  I  never  had  a  school  in  the  course  of  fifty  years'  experience 
that  gave  me  less  trouble.  This  must  have  been  due  to  the 
character  of  the  pupils,  for  it  certainly  was  not  due  to  my  na- 
tive or  acquired  ability  as  a  disciplinarian.  With  the  proceeds 
of  this  school  I  made  my  preparation  to  enter  the  academy  that 
had  recently  been  established  at  Pierce's  Springs,  Mississippi, 
about  eight  miles  from  where  we  lived.  I  entered  the  academy 
the  first  of  January,  1854.  In  order  to  economize  as  much  as 
possible,  I  walked  from  home  on  Monday  mornings  and  re- 
turned on  Friday  evenings. 


CHAPTER  V. 
PIERCE'S  SPRINGS. 

Mr.  George  Frederick  Mellen — Mrs.  Alice  Hayes  Mellen — Experiences  at 
the  Springs — A  Mob — How  to  Destroy  Fleas — My  First  Original 
Speech. 

PIERCE'S  SPRINGS  was  located  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Clarke  County,  Mississippi,  about  two  miles  from  the  State 
line  and  five  miles  northwest  of  Nicholson's  store,  now  Melvin, 
Alabama.  Just  below  the  Springs  there  is  a  streak  of  fine  prai- 
rie land  extending  from  Choctaw  County,  Alabama,  westward 
into  Mississippi.  On  these  lands  a  number  of  wealthy  planters 
had  settled.  Among  them  were  the  Evanses,  the  Harrells,  the 
McLendons,  the  Bedwells,  and  others.  This  was  a  typical 
neighborhood  of  the  "Black  Belt."  They  were  an  industrious, 
enterprising,  and  hospitable  people,  whose  wealth  was  the  re- 
sult of  their  own  thrift,  and  among  them  class  distinctions 
were  not  so  sharply  drawn  as  they  are  now  in  either  the  North 
or  the  South. 

I  was  through  all  my  school  and  college  life  associated  with 
the  sons  of  this  class  of  people,  and  among  them  I  found  many 
of  my  best  friends.  They  had  their  faults,  but  their  faults 
were  not  on  the  side  of  petty  meanness.  There  was  a  chival- 
rous spirit  among  them  which  gave  tone  to  the  old  Southern 
civilization.  It  is  an  error  to  say  that  they  were  domineering 
over  their  poorer  white  neighbors.  I  never  saw  any  indica- 
tions of  this  haughty  spirit  that  has  sometimes  been  attributed 
to  them.  This  charge  was  overworked  on  account  of  the  ha- 
tred of  slavery  among  many  Northern  people  just  before  the 
war  and  has  been  emphasized  for  a  generation  since. 

Two  or  three  miles  north  of  this  strip  of  prairie  country 
there  begins  a  portion  of  country  covered  by  long-leaf  pines  in 
which  there  is  a  mineral  spring.  Near  this  spring  Mrs.  Harvey 
Pierce  had  established  a  girls'  school  in  the  year  1852.  This 
gave  the  name  to  the  place.  She  was  a  native  of  Ohio,  a  wom- 
(58) 


REMINISCENCES.  59 

an  of  superior  ability  and  character.  Her  school  was  drawing 
patronage  from  all  that  part  of  East  Mississippi.  This  caused 
a  number  of  wealthy  and  enterprising  people  to  build  homes 
around  the  Springs.  Among  these  were  Colonel  B.  F.  Estes, 
Rev.  Paul  F.  Stearns,  Mr.  Thomas  Hicks,  Mrs.  Dumas,  Mr. 
J.  M.  Calhoun,  Mr.  John  H.  Evans,  Mr.  John  West,  and  oth- 
ers. These  people,  together  with  the  community  in  the  adja- 
cent prairie  belt,  needed  for  their  boys  a  school  similar  to  Mrs. 
Pierce's  school  for  girls.  They  organized  a  board  of  trustees 
to  establish  a  male  academy.  Mr.  Duke  Goodman,  a  commis- 
sion merchant  of  Mobile,  who  had  formerly  lived  in  this  sec- 
tion, was  one  of  the  influential  members  of  the  board,  for 
whom  the  school  was  named  Goodman  Institute,  though  it  was 
generally  designated  by  the  name  of  Pierce's  Springs. 

MR.  GEORGE  FREDERICK  MELLEN. 

The  trustees  engaged  as  the  first  principal  Mr.  George  Fred- 
erick Mellen,  who  had  been  teaching  for  two  or  three  years  at 
Mount  Sterling,  Choctaw  County,  Alabama,  another  typical 
Black  Belt  community.  Mr.  Mellen  had  made  a  fine  reputation 
at  Mount  Sterling,  and  his  coming  to  the  Springs  in  the  fall  O'f 
1853  drew  patronage  from  Alabama,  A  new  light  had  dawned 
on  that  section  such  as  had  never  shone  there  before. 

It  is  true  more  or  less  everywhere  that  the  man  or  woman 
at  the  head  makes  the  school.  This  was  emphatically  true  at 
Pierce's  Springs.  Mrs.  Pierce  made  the  girls'  school.  George 
Frederick  and  Seth  Smith  Mellen  made  the  male  academy  the 
most  noted  school  that  has  ever  been  in  that  part  of  East  Mis- 
sissippi. This  and  Dr.  Tutwiler's  school  at  Green  Springs, 
Alabama,  were  in  a  class  of  high  schools  in  the  South  before 
the  war  that,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  E.  A.  Alderman,  Presi- 
dent of  the  University  of  Virginia,  have  hardly  been  equaled 
except,  perhaps,  in  Scotland.  They  were  noted  for  the  large 
number  of  boys  they  sent  to  college  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  school. 

Mr.  George  F.  Mellen  was  a  native  of  Massachusetts.  He 
was  born  at  Brookfield,  prepared  for  college  at  the  celebrated 


60  REMINISCENCES. 

\Yilbraham  Academy,  and  graduated  from  Wesleyan  College 
(now  University),  at  Middletown,  Connecticut.  When  he 
went  to  the  Springs  lie  was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  six  feet 
tall,  a  little  stoop-shouldered,  with  fine  head,  dark  hair,  clear 
hazel  eyes,  prominent  Roman  nose,  projecting  upper  front 
teeth  which  generally  showed  a  little,  clear  complexion,  with 
clean-shaved  face,  and  always  neatly  dressed — altogether  a 
striking  personality.  You  would  take  him  in  any  crowd  to  be 
more  than  a  common  man.  The  first  time  I  ever  saw  him  was 
at  Kizer  Hill  Church,  just  before  I  entered  his  school.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  sermon  the  preacher  called  on  him  to  make 
the  closing  prayer.  This  he  did  in  a  rich,  mellow,  distinct 
voice.  One  sentence  of  the  prayer  was  a  quotation  from  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  which  has  been  ringing  in  my 
mind  ever  since:  "Or  ever  the  silver  cord  be  loosed,  or  the 
golden  bowl  be  broken,  or  the  pitcher  be  broken  at  the  foun- 
tain, or  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern.  Then  shall  the  dust 
return  to  the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto 
God  who  gave  it." 

However  favorably  you  might  be  impressed  with  his  appear- 
ance at  first,  you  had  to  be  associated  with  him  some  time  to 
understand  and  appreciate  his  real  character.  He  was  a  fine 
scholar  for  his  age,  well  versed  in  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  Eng- 
lish, and  mathematics.  He  kept  up  his  Hebrew  studies  daily, 
as  well  as  the  languages  which  he  taught.  He  did  not  spare 
himself  in  his  work  for  his  students.  I  may  have  had  some 
better  teachers  in  the  mere  details  of  instruction;  but  for  get- 
ting students  to  take  a  comprehensive  view  of  a  subject  and 
inspiring  them  with  noble  purposes  I  have  not  seen  his  supe- 
rior. He  had  been  a  student  under  Stephen  Olin  at  Middle- 
town.  He  must  have  caught  some  of  Olin's  spirit  which 
prompted  Alexander  H.  Stephens  to  say,  after  being  his  pupil 
at  Franklin  College,  Georgia,  that  he  was  more  indebted  to  Dr. 
Olin  for  his  interest  in  literature  than  to  all  his  other  teachers 
combined. 

After  all,  inspiration  is  the  greatest  quality  in  a  teacher. 
Many  teachers  can  instruct  well,  but  not  all  can  inspire  great 


REMINISCENCES.  61 

and  noble  purposes  in  the  young.  Without  inspiration,  educa- 
tion can  never  yield  its  best  fruitage.  Thomas  Arnold  could 
create  noble  visions  in  the  minds  of  his  students.  Stephen  Olin 
and  Mark  Hopkins  could  do  this,  and  George  Frederick  Mellen 
could  do  it.  If  the  academy  at  Pierce's  Springs  had  closed  with 
his  principalship,  still  it  would  have  been  the  scene  of  a  worthy 
effort.  Mr.  Mellen  never  troubled  us  with  many  precepts  and 
set  rules.  It  was  his  custom  on  opening  school  in  the  morning 
to  read  something  from  the  Bible  and  offer  devout  prayer  in  a 
full,  earnest  tone  of  voice.  We  were  rather  a  godless  set  of 
youths  and  did  not  stop  to  think  much  about  his  prayers ;  but 
we  were  generally  respectful  to  him,  for  we  loved  him.  More 
religion  gets  into  a  boy  through  the  devout  teacher  he  loves 
than  through  any  merely  formal  instruction  that  can  be  given. 
On  the  other  hand,  a  powerful  excuse  is  given  for  being  irre- 
ligious when  a  brilliant  and  popular  teacher  practically  ignores 
the  subject. 

My  studies  were  "Davies's  Elementary  Algebra,"  "Brown's 
English  Grammar,"  "Parker's  Natural  Philosophy,"  a  book  on 
chemistry  whose  author  I  cannot  recall,  "Whately's  Logic," 
and  original  compositions  and  declamation.  I  well  remember 
my  first  effort  at  declamation.  I  had  memorized  a  short  speech 
from  "Lovell's  Young  Speaker."  I  knew  it  perfectly,  but  had 
never  practiced  speaking  it  aloud.  When  my  name  was  called, 
I  took  my  stand  on  the  platform  and  began.  When  I  had  spo- 
ken two  or  three  sentences,  my  voice  had  a  strange  sound, 
which  caused  the  next  sentence  to  leave  me,  and  all  was  blank. 
Not  a  word  could  I  recall.  After  an  awful  pause  of  some 
moments  I  stumbled  down  to  my  desk,  buried  my  face  in  my 
hands,  and  wished  for  a  hole  in  the  floor  big  enough  to  let 
me  fall  through.  When  I  recovered  from  my  mortification,  I 
made  a  resolution  that  I  would  never  leave  the  stage  again  un- 
til I  had  finished  all  I  had  to  say.  I  believe  this  resolution  has 
been  of  great  benefit  to  me.  It  gave  me  confidence  in  myself. 
I  have  never  failed  to  be  able  to  say  in  some  fashion  all  that  I 
had  to  say  on  any  given  occasion.  My  friend  Leo  Shackelford 
was  of  service  in  hearing  me  rehearse  my  next  speech  for 


62  REMINISCENCES. 

public  declamation.     He  was  a  good  speaker  and  gave  me  en- 
couragement. 

While  I  got  a  great  deal  out  of  these  subjects,  which  were 
all  new  to  me,  I  got  a  great  deal  more  out  of  Mr.  Mellen.  It 
has  taken  more  than  sixty  years  to  find  put  how  much  I  did  get. 
Indeed,  I  believe  it  will  take  a  longer  period  than  this  life  to 
reveal  it  all. 

MRS.  ALICE  HAYES  MELLEN. 

Mrs.  Alice  Hayes  Mellen  deserves  mention  in  this  connec- 
tion, as  she  was  Mr.  Mellen's  assistant  in  composition  and  oc- 
casionally in  recitations.  She  was  a  brilliant  and  finely  edu- 
cated woman,  but  somewhat  eccentric.  She  was  an  excellent 
writer.  After  leaving  the  South  she  wrote  a  book,  I  am  in- 
formed, which  I  never  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing.  I  owe  her 
a  debt  of  gratitude  for  her  special  interest  and  encouragement. 
On  one  occasion  when  we  had  some  public  exercises  she  and 
Miss  O.  C.  DuBose  had  been  descanting  on  the  characteristics 
of  some  of  the  students,  among  them  Newton  Phillips,  my 
roommate,  and  myself.  As  Phillips  and  I  came  out  of  the 
house  the  two  ladies  met  us  at  the  door,  and  Mrs.  Mellen  em- 
barrassed us  all  by  stating  publicly  that  Miss  DuBose  had  said 
that  Phillips  was  handsomer  than  I.  She  quickly  stepped  up  to 
me,  brushed  back  my  hair,  and  said:  "Stand  up  straight  and 
show  that  you  are  a  better-looking  man  than  Phillips."  This 
was  one  of  her  eccentric  freaks,  at  which  no  one  was  surprised. 

EXPERIENCES  AT  THE  SPRINGS. 

A  few  of  my  experiences  during  my  first  year  ar  the  Springs 
will  be  in  place  here.  I  boarded  with  Mr.  John  H.  Evans,  who 
had  five  students  boarding  in  his  family.  Miss  Lizzie  Kent  (a 
niece  of  Mrs.  Evans),  Miss  Lizzie  Evans  (sister  of  Mr.  Ev- 
ans), and  a  Miss  Williams  were  students  in  Mrs.  Pierce's 
school.  Newton  D.  Phillips,  brother  of  Mrs.  Evans,  and  I 
were  students  in  the  male  academy.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  were 
fine  people  and  made  our  home  very  pleasant. 

The  young  and  inexperienced  are  apt  to  be  self-confident  and 


REMINISCENCES.  63 

to  feel  able  to  rise  above  their  moral  and  social  environment. 
They  should  know  that  there  is  danger  here.  During  this  first 
year  at  the  Springs  there  were  a  number  of  us  about  the  same 
age,  from  eighteen  to  twenty  years.  Some  of  these  were  high- 
ly gifted  youths  of  warm  and  generous  natures.  We  were  all 
susceptible  to  the  charms  of  friendship;  but  some  of  the  most 
gifted  ones,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  times,  had  formed 
a  taste  for  strong  drink.  This  was  intensified  by  the  fascina- 
tion that  the  social  element  supplies.  At  that  time  I  was  not 
settled  in  my  religious  principles.  I  was  more  open  to  tempta- 
tion than  I  would  have  been  with  settled  religious  convictions. 
My  sympathies  had  entered  deeply  into  the  lives  of  these  genial 
friends,  and  before  I  knew  it  I  found  that  they  were  beginning 
to  lead  me  to  lengths  I  did  not  wish  to  go.  I  saw  that  I  had  to 
control  them,  which  was  impossible;  or  to  break  with  them, 
which  was  not  so  easy  to  do  when  I  had  no  other  sympathetic 
circle  to  enter;  or  to  drift  with  them  down  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing current  toward  the  falls.  I  almost  shudder  now  to  think  of 
how  perilously  near  I  came  to  being  sucked  into  the  maelstrom 
and  swept  with  the  crowd  into  some  reckless  deed  that  might 
have  destroyed  confidence  in  me  at  that  critical  time  and  have 
marred  my  future  prospects  for  an  education.  I  am  thankful 
that  my  good  angel  came  to  my  rescue  again.  I  told  my  room- 
mate that  he  might  do  as  he  pleased,  but  that,  as  for  me,  I  was 
going  to  act  for  myself  in  the  future  and  that  I  was  not  going 
to  be  led  by  my  friends.  He  said :  "You  are  right,  and  I  will 
go  with  you."  This  resolution  was  a  shield  against  similar 
temptations  to  engage  in  reckless  conduct.  It  has  sometimes 
made  me  feel  rather  lonesome  to  stand  with  the  minority  and 
in  more  than  one  instance  by  myself,  but  I  am  sure  that  it  has 
been  the  safer  plan.  I  have  thus  maintained  my  self-respect 
and  have  not  lost  any  of  the  respect  of  my  fellow  men  that  has 
been  worth  maintaining. 

It  makes  me  sad  to  know  that  all  that  crowd  of  gifted  boys 
are  gone.  Some  of  them  who  might  have  been  burning  and 
shining  lights  in  the  world  went  to  premature  graves,  over 
which  black  Azrael  hovers.  I  would  not  mention  this  but  for 


64  REMINISCENCES. 

the  hope  of  erecting  a  beacon  of  warning  to  the  boys  of  a  new 
generation.  Let  them  know  that  they  must  stand  for  them- 
selves or  drift  with  the  current.  Standing  against  an  evil  cur- 
rent will  make  men;  drifting  with  it  will  make  driftwood  on 
the  stream  of  time. 

A  MOB. 

Mrs.  Pierce  had  in  her  family  a  girl  by  the  name  of  Shaw, 
whom  Mr.  Pierce  had  taken  from  the  orphan  asylum  at  Vicks- 
burg  under  certain  stipulations  that  she  was  to  be  kept  in  his 
family  and  educated  until  she  became  of  age.  It  appeared  that 
she  had  written  to  her  brother,  a  young  fellow  about  eighteen 
years  old,  that  she  was  being  mistreated  by  the  Pierces.  The 
young  man  came  and  tried  to  take  his  sister  away.  The  Pierces 
refused  to  let  her  go,  claiming  that  they  were  under  contract  to 
keep  her  until  she  became  of  age.  The  young  man  went  around 
in  the  community  and  stirred  up  a  good  deal  of  prejudice 
against  the  Pierces,  which  he  could  easily  do,  as  they  were 
economical,  industrious  people,  and  required  more  work  of 
their  children  and  dependents  than  some  of  the  Southern  people 
were  accustomed  to  do.  The  boys  of  the  male  school  proved 
to  be  inflammable  material  for  this  business,  especially  as  Mrs. 
Pierce  did  not  allow  them  all  the  privileges  with  her  board- 
ing pupils  that  they  wished.  Led  by  some  of  the  more  hot- 
headed citizens,  they  marched  to  the  female  academy  and  de- 
manded the  surrender  of  Miss  Shaw.  Mr.  Pierce  indignantly 
refused.  The  leaders  threatened  to  enter  his  house  and  take 
her  by  force.  He  declared  that  if  they  should  do  this  he  would 
prosecute  them  for  unlawful  entrance  into  his  premises. 
Things  were  coming  to  a  very  critical  stage  when  Mr.  Mellen 
and  some  of  the  more  cool-headed  citizens  induced  Mr.  Pierce 
to  agree  to  let  the  girl  go  under  protest,  with  proof  that  he  was 
compelled  to  do  so  in  the  interest  of  peace.  This  evidence,  he 
said,  he  wanted  in  case  he  should  be  sued  by  the  trustees  of 
the  orphan  asylum  for  failure  to  carry  out  his  contract.  Two 
of  the  more  reckless  boys  took  the  girl  and  her  brother  in  bug- 
gies to  Slater's  Landing,  on  the  Tombigbee  River,  thirty  miles 
away. 


REMINISCENCES.  65 

At  first  I  sympathized  with  the  Shaws,  but  was  not  in  favor 
of  violent  measures.  The  thing  annoyed  Mr.  Mellen  very 
much.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  feeling  for  a  while;  but 
after  it  became  fully  known  that  the  girl  was  not  abused,  but 
was  treated  reasonably  well  and  was  getting  more  education 
than  she  would  have  gotten  anywhere  else,  the  excitement 
quieted  down,  and  the  Pierces  were  justified  in  the  estimation 
of  the  public.  This  was  my  first  experience  as  to  what  an  ex- 
cited mob  will  do.  They  are  as  apt  to  do  the  wrong  thing  as 
the  right ;  and  when  they  do  the  right  thing,  they  are  sure  to 
do  it  in  the  wrong  way. 

How  TO  DESTROY  FLEAS. 

Another  incident  which  occurred  that  session  about  the  last 
of  May  or  first  of  June  was  published  in  many  papers  through- 
out the  country  as  a  "sure  remedy  for  destroying  fleas."  The 
schoolhouse  had  been  built  the  year  before  out  of  large  split 
pine  logs  about  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  split 
side  was  hewn  smooth,  and  the  cracks  between  the  logs  were 
ceiled  with  dressed  planks  running  parallel  with  the  logs.  The 
house  was  set  on  blocks  about  two  feet  above  the  ground. 
The  hogs  had  been  sleeping  under  the  house  at  night  for  some 
time  without  attracting  attention  and  had  generated  more  fleas 
than  I  ever  saw  in  one  place.  Our  pants  would  be  almost  black 
with  them  when  we  passed  close  to  it.  Some  genius  suggested 
as  an  effective  means  of  destroying  the  fleas  that  a  layer  of 
leaves  be  placed  underneath  and  set  on  fire.  The  fire  extended 
from  the  leaves  to  the  pine  splinters.  The  house  was  soon  in 
flames  and  in  the  course  of  an  hour  or  two  in  ashes.  We  never 
saw  any  more  fleas  in  that  place. 

MY  FIRST  ORIGINAL  SPEECH. 

The  remainder  of  the  session  was  conducted  in  an  unoccu- 
pied dwelling  house.    After  a  session  of  ten  months,  the  school 
closed  the  latter  part  of  July.    The  teachers  had  given  a  faith- 
ful review  of  the  studies  passed  over  during  the  year.     The 
5 


(.'*  REMINISCENCES. 

closing  exercises  of  two  clays  were  held  under  a  large  l)rush 
arbor  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  spring.  \Ye  were  ex- 
amined on  each  subject  by  the  teacher,  then  the  book  was  hand- 
ed to  any  one  in  the  audience  who  felt  inclined  to  ask  any  ques- 
tion on  the  subject  under  examination.  Not  many  people  cared 
to  ask  questions,  but  one  young  physician  who  had  been  to 
college  ventured  to  show  how  much  he  knew  by  contrasting  his 
knowledge  with  our  ignorance.  Of  course  we  could  nut  an- 
swer all  of  his  questions,  but  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  be  able 
to  answer  everything  except  one  problem  in  algebra.  Public 
examination  was  a  new  experience.  I  had  studied  very  hard, 
my  mind  was  clear,  and  the  excitement  put  me  at  my  best. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  the  older  boys  delivered 
their  original  speeches.  Mine  was  on  Christopher  Columbus. 
I  had  read  Irving's  "Life  of  Columbus"  during  the  year.  The 
subject  suited  me  in  one  respect ;  for,  like  Columbus,  I  was 
making  my  first  voyage  over  the  unknown  sea  of  original 
speech-making.  After  I  had  done  my  best  on  its  composition, 
I  was  not  pleased  with  my  effort ;  but  Mrs.  Mellen,  who  had 
charge  of  the  preparation  of  our  speeches,  assured  me  that  it 
would  do  with  some  corrections.  After  she  had  criticized  it,  I 
thought  so  too. 

I  have  often  recalled  my  appearance  on  that  occasion.  I  do 
not  think  I  had  on  more  than  ten  dollars'  worth  of  clothing 
from  head  to  foot.  My  pants  were  made  out  of  blue  checked 
cloth  that  had  cost  about  two  dollars  and  a  half.  They  had 
been  washed  and  had  shrunk  until  they  were  too  tight  and  too 
short  and  made  my  big  feet  look  still  bigger.  I  wore  a  long 
linen  coat  that  had  cost  about  two  dollars  and  a  half.  I  knew 
very  well  that  my  dress  was  not  adequate  to  the  occasion ;  but 
my  money  had  given  out  a  month  before,  and  I  did  not  know 
how  to  borrow.  I  had  never  learned  that  art.  Tt  would  have 
seemed  too  much  like  begging  to  have  asked  any  one  to  lend 
me  a  dollar.  I  think  now  that  my  independence  was  rather  too 
intense.  I  am  sure,  though,  that  it  was  better  to  err  on  that  side 
than  on  the  opposite.  Young  people  are  often  too  much  dis- 
posed to  get  help.  This  disposition  saps  the  foundation  of  in- 


REMINISCENCES.  67 

dependent  manhood  and  womanhood.  Self-denial  is  a  bitter 
medicine,  but  it  is  a  fine  tonic. 

When  my  speech  was  called,  I  had  to  stand  out  in  full  view 
of  several  hundred  well-dressed  people.  I  felt,  as  every  young 
man  should  feel,  that  there  was  something  more  in  me  than  ap- 
peared on  the  outside.  This  feeling  gave  me  inspiration.  I 
finished  my  speech  without  hesitation  or  embarrassment.  I 
think  my  good  angel  must  have  been  with  me,  for  my  future 
education  depended  on  the  success  of  those  two  days,  as  will 
appear  later. 

When  our  speeches  had  all  been  delivered,  Mr.  Mellen  an- 
nounced that  his  brother,  Professor  S.  S.  Mellen,  would  have 
charge  of  the  school  the  next  year,  that  he  would  not  be  our 
teacher  any  more,  and  in  a  few  simple  words  of  advice  and  as- 
surance of  his  abiding  interest  in  us,  he  bade  us  farewell  with 
evident  but  well-controlled  emotion.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
scene  of  that  July  afternoon.  The  rough,  hard-hearted  boys 
broke  down  and  cried  like  children.  It  was  not  so  much  what 
Mr.  Mellen  said  as  what  Mr.  Mellen  was.  I  have  seen  girls 
moved  with  intense  emotion  on  parting  from  their  teachers  and 
friends ;  but  I  have  never  seen  boys  so  moved  with  deep  feeling 
that  lasted  beyond  the  hour. 

Mr.  Mellen  went  North  and  entered  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary at  Andover,  Massachusetts,  to  prepare  for  the  ministry. 
While  there  he  wrote  me  two  kind  and  encouraging  letters, 
which  were  like  messages  from  another  world  after  his  death, 
which  occurred  the  following  year.  "He  being  dead  yet 
speaketh." 

As  we  went  out  from  under  that  brush  arbor,  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  the  last  two  days,  Colonel  Alfred  Yates,  who 
has  been  mentioned,  met  me  in  a  very  cordial  manner  and  said: 
"John,  I  was  mighty  glad  to  hear  you  answering  all  those  ques- 
tions. I  am  proud  of  your  success.  What  are  you  going  to 
do  now  ?"  I  replied :  "I  am  going  to  work  to  make  some  mon- 
ey, then  I  am  going  to  school  again."  "Well,"  he  said,  "it's  a 
pity  for  you  to  stop  now.  You  ought  to  go  on  to  school."  I 


68  REMINISCENCES. 

answered:  "Yes;  but  I  have  no  money,  and  I  owe  Mr.  Evans 
for  a  month's  board,  which  I  must  pay  as  soon  as  possible." 
"Well,  get  you  a  school  and  make  as  much  as  you  can  during 
the  summer.  If  you  can  pay  for  your  board  next  session,  I 
will  pay  for  your  tuition  and  will  wait  on  you  until  you  are 
able  to  pay  me." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

My  Third  Attempt  at  Teaching — The  Beginning  of  My  Religious  Life — 
Professor  Seth  Smith  Mellen — Joining  the  Church — Religious  Experi- 
ences— School  at  Choclahana. 

T  WENT  home  and  taught  the  first  public  school  ever  taught 
•••  in  our  neighborhood.  The  first  general  public  school  law 
for  Alabama  was  enacted  by  the  Legislature  early  in  this  year, 
1854.  The  session  of  my  school  lasted  three  months,  and  I 
was  paid  eighty  dollars  for  my  services. 

During  the  summer  while  I  was  teaching  this  school  great 
changes  were  beginning  to  take  place  in  my  spiritual  being.  I 
had  always  intended  to  be  religious.  I  never  knew  the  time 
when  I  was  troubled  with  notions  of  infidelity.  Two  or  three 
years  before  this  I  had  read,  at  the  suggestion  of  my  friend 
Mr.  Hayes,  "Nelson  on  Infidelity."  The  book  interested  me, 
but  had  made  no  particular  impression  on  me  that  I  could  re- 
calL  I  did  not  intend  to  be  wicked.  I  had  simply  grown  god- 
less and  impenitent  through  neglect  in  cultivating  any  positive 
piety.  I  had  been  prayerless.  I  had  not  been  a  Bible  reader. 
I  had  never  heard  any  preaching  that  impressed  me.  I  had 
left  the  garden  of  my  heart  to  the  thorns  and  weeds  of  sin, 
and  they  had  taken  it.  I  saw  that  I  was  not  getting  any  better, 
but  was  growing  worse.  My  condition  alarmed  me.  I  decided 
to  change  my  course.  I  found  an  old  copy  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  began  to  read  it  carefully.  I  began  to  try  to  pray, 
but  the  heavens  seemed  like  brass.  I  was  bound  in  the  chains 
of  sin.  My  state  was  expressed  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Ro- 
mans. Sometimes  my  regret  would  be  less  poignant  and  the 
"fearful  looking  for  of  fiery  indignation"  temporarily  relieved. 
But  in  the  main  my  spiritual  sky  was  beclouded.  This  convic- 
tion came  on  me  without  any  human  agency,  so  far  as  I  knew. 
I  had  been  attending  no  religious  meetings.  I  had  been  reading 
no  religious  books  for  some  time.  I  believe  that  it  came  from 
God's  Spirit,  making  me  sensible  of  my  condition  and  wooing 
me  to  a  better  life. 

(69) 


70  REMINISCENCES. 

One  other  thing  during  this  summer  session  has  been  dis- 
tinctly remembered.  It  was  the  clearing  up  of  the  subject  of 
algebra,  I  had  studied  Davies's  Elementary  Algebra  the  pre- 
ceding session,  but  it  had  never  become  clear  in  my  mind. 
Now  I  had  a  pupil,  Robert  Swann,  who  had  studied  Day's 
Algebra  through  equations  of  the  first  degree  under  Dr.  Allen. 
Robert  and  I  had  only  one  book.  When  he  was  not  using  his 
book,  I  studied  ahead  of  him  and  was  surprised  and  delighted 
to  find  how  clear  the  subject  became  from  this  review  in  a  dif- 
ferent book.  This  experience  taught  me  the  important  lesson 
that  when  a  subject  is  not  clearly  understood  it  is  well  to  study 
another  author  who  presents  the  same  matter  in  a  different 
form. 

When  I  returned  to  Pierce's  Springs  on  November  16,  1854 
(as  Professor  S.  S.  Mellen's  record  book  shows),  I  found  the 
new  frame  academy  completed.  Seated  in  the  principal's  chair 
was  Professor  S.  S.  Mellen.  While  I  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  quite  a  number  of  people,  this  man,  during  my  five  years' 
association  with  him,  gave  me  more  assistance  in  the  way  of 
instruction  than  any  other  man.  It  is  therefore  proper  that  I 
should  make  special  mention  of  him. 

PROFESSOR  SETH  SMITH  MELLEN. 

Seth  Smith  Mellen  was  born  in  Pelham,  Massachusetts, 
February  7,  1821.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  Wilbraham 
Academy,  and  graduated  with  third  honor  from  Williams  Col- 
lege in  the  class  of  1843  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Mark 
Hopkins.  When  I  first  saw  Mr.  Mellen,  in  1854,  he  was  thirty- 
three  years  of  age,  was  about  five  feet  and  eleven  inches  in 
height,  of  superb  form,  fine  head,  black  hair  which  slightly 
curled,  Roman  nose  and  face,  and  large,  dark,  expressive  eyes 
• — altogether  one  of  the  handsomest  men  I  have  ever  seen.  He 
was  a  more  brilliant  man  than  his  brother,  with  good  talent  for 
public  address.  I  have  heard  it  said  by  those  who  knew  him 
well  that  he  could  have  made  a  brilliant  success  in  any  of  the 
professions,  if  his  tastes  had  led  him  in  that  direction.  He  was 
a  modest  man  who  did  not  like  publicity.  He  was  a  teacher 


REMINISCENCES.  71 

because  he  loved  teaching.  To  any  one  who  has  no  taste  and 
aptitude  for  teaching  it  is  an  irksome  business,  but  to  one  who 
loves  teaching  it  is  full  of  inspiration.  The  live  teacher  finds 
pleasure  in  the  acquisition  of  the  knowledge  of  the  subjects  to 
be  taught,  but  the  greatest  pleasure  of  all  is  experienced  in 
witnessing  the  development  of  his  students  as  they  are  intro- 
duced into  the  kingdom  of  knowledge,  with  all  the  possibilities 
that  open  before  them. 

Aristotle's  pleasure  in  teaching  Alexander  the  Great  proba- 
bly exceeded  any  that  the  conqueror  ever  had  in  his  brilliant 
campaigns.  Dr.  Arnold's  delight  in  the  opening  mind  of  Ar- 
thur P.  Stanley  was  no  doubt  equal  to  any  the  great  preacher 
ever  felt  in  his  ministrations  in  Westminster  Abbey.  Dr. 
Olin's  satisfaction  in  the  mental  growth  of  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  was  doubtless  equal  to  any  that  the  noted  statesman 
ever  experienced  in  his  devotion  to  national  affairs. 

Dr.  S.  S.  Mellen  was  a  teacher  because  he  preferred  teaching 
to  all  other  occupations.  He  was  a  man  of  such  fine  business 
judgment  that  with  the  modest  earnings  of  his  school  he 
dressed  well,  lived  in  comfort,  gave  his  children  the  best  ad- 
vantages for  education,  and  accumulated  by  judicious  invest- 
ments in  the  course  of  a  long  life  a  competency  for  his  old  age. 
If  he  had  given  his  whole  time  to  the  accumulation  of  wealth, 
he  could  easily  have  amassed  a  fortune.  He  chose  the  wiser 
course.  He  reared  his  children  better  than  if  he  had  been  a 
mere  money-maker.  His  name  will  be  embalmed  in  the  affec- 
tionate remembrance  of  hundreds  of  his  pupils  when  all  mate- 
rial investments  that  he  could  have  made  will  be  forgotten. 
Well  done,  faithful  teacher!  You  have  your  reward.  You 
made  no  claims  to  greatness,  but  hundreds  will  honor  you, 
while  others  who  tried  to  climb  the  heights  of  fame  will  pass 
out  of  the  memory  of  their  fellow  man.  You  made  no  loud 
professions  of  piety,  but  your  works  do  follow  you  in  the  bet- 
terment of  mankind. 

Dr.  Hopkins  had  evidently  exercised  a  great  influence  over 
him.  He  never  grew  weary  of  speaking  of  Dr.  Hopkins'  ser- 
mons and  addresses  and  in  telling1  how  they  were  prepared  on 


72  REMINISCENCES. 

fragments  of  paper  scattered  over  his  desk  and  how,  when 
they  were  brought  together  and  fused  into  a  consistent  whole 
and  sent  forth  from  the  great  soul  of  Dr.  Hopkins,  they  were 
marvelous,  life-giving  productions  that  caused  President  Gar- 
field,  in  emphasizing  the  necessity  of  having  a  great  man  at  the 
head  of  an  institution  of  learning,  to  make  the  extreme  state- 
ment that  "the  best  university  is  a  Dr.  Hopkins  on  one  end  of 
a  log  and  a  student  on  the  other."  Hearing  these  addresses  so 
highly  praised,  I  bought  and  read  with  great  interest  and  profit 
several  volumes  of  his  works  after  I  became  a  teacher. 

When  I  returned  to  the  academy  in  the  fall  of  1854,  I  knew 
that  I  would  be  behind  in  my  studies,  as  the  school  had  been 
running  six  weeks.  Mr.  Mellen  quickly  saw  what  would  be 
best  for  me.  He  handed  me  a  Davies's  Bourdon,  Davies's 
Legendre,  Andrew's  Latin  Grammar  and  Reader,  and  Bul- 
lion's Greek  Grammar  and  Reader — all  new  subjects  to  me, 
except  that  I  had  studied  elementary  courses  in  algebra  and 
geometry.  I  felt  sure  that  I  could  not  take  so  many  new  stud- 
ies. But  he  was  firm,  and  I  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  to 
work  or  rebel  against  his  decision.  If  he  had  left  me  to  choose 
my  own  studies,  I  should  not  have  taken  Greek  and  carried  it 
on  evenly  with  my  Latin,  English,  and  mathematics.  It  is 
possible  that  I  should  never  have  gone  to  college.  In  those 
days  the  curriculum  was  inflexible.  It  required  an  even  amount 
of  Greek,  Latin,  English,  and  mathematics  for  entrance  and 
for  graduation  in  any  male  college.  After  pursuing  these  sub- 
jects for  several  years,  I  was  well  prepared  to  enter  the  sopho- 
more class  in  any  college  of  that  time.  But  I  am  anticipating. 
I  must  go  back  to  the  session  of  1854-55. 

When  I  began  the  study  of  Greek  and  Latin,  so  different 
were  they  from  anything  that  I  had  ever  tried  to  learn  that  I 
thought  I  should  never  be  able  to  fasten  their  forms  in  my 
mind.  When  I  thought  I  had  them  thoroughly  learned,  they 
would  slip  out  of  my  memory.  It  took  several  months  of  the 
most  uninspiring  drudgery  to  get  their  elements  fixed  in  my 
mind  for  good  and  all. 

During  this  year  I  studied  exceedingly  hard  and  took  very 


REMINISCENCES.  73 

little  exercise.  The  change  from  a  very  active  life  to  sedentary 
habits  was  too  sudden.  My  friend  Mr.  Evans  had  moved  to 
his  plantation ;  and  I  had  gone  to  board  at  another  place  where 
the  fare  was  plain,  poorly  cooked,  and  without  any  variety. 
That  horrid  bogie  called  indigestion  began  to  take  possession 
of  me.  In  addition  to  my  hard  studies  and  poor  fare,  my  spirit 
was  clouded  and  depressed  on  account  of  my  unsatisfactory 
religious  state.  My  naturally  strong  constitution  began  to  give 
way.  About  the  middle  of  the  year  my  money  gave  out,  and 
I  was  about  as  miserable  as  it  was  possible  for  a  mortal  to  be. 
I  went  to  the  man  with  whom  I  boarded  and  told  him  that  I 
had  no  money  to  pay  my  board  any  longer  and  that  I  was  going 
to  stop  school  and  go  to  work.  He  said:  "O,  Colonel  Yates 
has  paid  your  board  for  the  remainder  of  the  year."  This  re- 
lieved me  of  the  financial  embarrassment,  but  it  did  not  relieve 
my  physical  and  spiritual  depression. 

I  told  Mr.  Mellen  that  I  thought  I  had  better  stop  school,  that 
I  did  not  think  I  was  doing  much  in  my  studies,  that  my  life 
was  a  burden,  and  that  I  did  not  expect  to  live  long  and  knew 
I  was  not  prepared  to  die.  The  big-hearted  man  clearly  took 
in  my  case.  He  asked  me  to  get  up  soon  every  morning  and 
take  a  long  walk  with  him,  a  thing  he  was  in  the  habit  of  doing 
before  breakfast.  On  these  walks  he  told  me  that  I  was  doing 
very  well  in  my  studies ;  that  whether  I  lived  twenty  years  or 
eighty  ought  not  to  be  any  concern  of  mine,  for  length  of  days 
was  in  the  hands  of  God ;  and  that,  as  for  being  ready,  the  best 
way  to  secure  that  preparation  was  to  take  care  of  my  health 
and  do  my  duty  faithfully  as  it  arose  day  by  day.  His  effort 
to  get  my  mind  off  myself  and  to  raise  my  faith  to  a  firmer 
trust  in  God,  as  He  is  to  be  found  in  doing  our  duty  faithfully 
in  the  common  affairs  of  life,  was  just  what  I  needed. 

JOINED  THE  CHURCH — RELIGIOUS  EXPERIENCES. 

In  the  spring  of  1855  the  Methodist  people  of  Pierce's 
Springs  planned  to  have  a  protracted  meeting.  Rev.  Green- 
berry  Garrett,  whose  obituary  I  wrote  seventeen  years  after- 
wards, was  the  presiding  elder  and  preached  the  opening  ser- 


74  REMINISCENCES. 

mon  from  the  text,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart:  for  they 
shall  see  God."  At  the  close  of  his  sermon  he  said:  "If  there 
is  a  sinner  in  the  house  who  wants  to  find  God,  let  him  come 
forward  and  make  it  known."  I  was  on  the  back  seat  of  the 
academy,  in  which  the  services  were  held.  As  I  had  before- 
hand resolved  to  do,  I  rose  and  went  forward  and  knelt  at  his 
feet.  I  felt  that  there  was  a  good  man  standing  between  me 
and  an  angry  Deity.  If  I  could  only  have  looked  beyond  the 
good  man  through  the  "Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin 
of  the  world"  and  have  caught  a  vision  of  the  infinite  compas- 
sion of  the  Father,  who  wills  that  all  should  come  to  Him  and 
live,  I  know  now  that  my  gloom  would  have  vanished  and  that 
my  sky  would  have  been  cleared  of  all  its  clouds.  But  my  faith 
could  not  yet  rise  to  that  height.  I  went  through  all  the  serv- 
ices of  the  meeting  without  ever  having  my  faith  rest  firmly  in 
God  alone.  I  was  looking  at  my  past  sins  or  to  my  own  manu- 
factured righteousness  or  to  my  fancied  imitation  of  other  peo- 
ple's experiences. 

I  think  that  about  twoscore  of  young  people  professed 
conversion  and  joined  the  Church  on  probation.  The  good 
people  tried  hard  to  instruct  me,  but  they  could  not ;  they  only 
confused  me.  I  had  several  months  before  made  up  my  mind 
to  leave  off  everything  that  I  knew  to  be  wrong  and  to  try  to 
do  everything  that  I  believed  to  be  right.  When  the  preacher, 
Rev.  W.  C.  Turner,  called  for  applicants  to  join  the  Church 
on  probation,  I  gave  him  my  name,  believing  that  this  was 
moving  along  the  line  of  the  resolution  I  had  already  formed. 
But  I  was  not  satisfied  with  my  religious  state. 

When  the  session  of  1855  closed,  I  found  that  I  had  suc- 
ceeded in  my  studies  better  than  I  expected.  I  had  prepared 
an  original  speech  that  I  do  not  remember  much  about.  Mrs. 
George  F.  Mellen  had  written  a  play  for  our  school  called 
"The  Modern  Socrates."  The  chief  characters  in  the  play 
were  Socrates,  Xanthippe,  and  Alcibiades.  Socrates  was  as- 
signed as  my  part  in  the  play.  I  was  somewhat  reluctant  to 
take  it,  as  I  had  to  come  on  the  stage  barefooted  and  in  very 
old  and  homely  apparel  to  suit  the  character  of  the  old  Grecian. 


REMINISCENCES.  75 

At  Mr.  Mellen's  instance,  however,  I  acted  the  part,  and  the 
play  went  off  very  well.  At  the  close  of  the  exercises  I  met  my 
friend  Colonel  Yates  and  said  to  him:  "I  am  indebted  to  you 
for  a  year's  tuition  and  several  months'  board."  He  replied: 
"That's  all  right.  Do  you  want  to  go  again  next  year?"  I 
told  him :  "I  should  like  to."  He  answered :  "Go  ahead.  I  will 
see  you  out" 

I  spent  the  vacation  at  home,  helping  my  brothers  on  the 
farm.  I  attended  another  protracted  meeting  at  Kizer  Hill 
Church,  during  which  my  brother  Joel  passed  through  a  strik- 
ing change  in  his  religious  life.  I  went  through  all  the  exer- 
cises, but  I  experienced  no  extraordinary  change  such  as  I  was 
looking  for.  Indeed,  some  of  their  highly  wrought  states  of 
excitement  had  a  tendency  to  confuse  me. 

I  returned  to  the  Springs  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  in 
October,  1855,  and  entered  upon  my  studies  with  renewed 
zeal.  I  was  becoming  very  much  interested  in  Latin  and  Greek. 
During  this  year  and  the  year  or  two  following  Vergil  and 
Horace,  Xenophon  and  Herodotus  were  growing  wonderfully 
fascinating.  It  seems  as  if  I  could  enter  into  the  life  of  these 
ancient  people  and  live  it  over  again  with  them.  I  was  sur- 
prised to  find  how  much  they  were  like  ourselves.  Human  na- 
ture had  not  changed  much  in  two  thousand  years.  I  was  now 
richly  repaid  for  all  the  drudgery  I  had  done  in  laying  a  foun- 
dation in  the  classics.  I  shall  never  cease  to  be  thankful  that 
I  had  a  superior  teacher  to  start  me  in  these  subjects.  In  addi- 
tion to  reading  and  carefully  translating  the  classic  authors, 
we  had  daily  exercises  in  translating  back  and  forth  from  the 
original  languages  into  ours. 

In  the  spring  of  1856  Dr.  D.  M.  Dunlap,  the  pastor  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  called  for  those  who  had  joined  the  Church 
on  probation  the  year  before  to  come  forward  and  be  re- 
ceived into  full  connection.  Out  of  about  forty,  only  two, 
Miss  Maria  Pope  and  myself,  presented  ourselves,  were  bap- 
tized, and  received  into  full  connection.  The  others  had  all 
either  moved  away  or  lost  their  interest  in  the  Church.  I  am 
sure  that  it  was  well  with  Miss  Pope,  for  she  was  a  splendid 


76  REMINISCENCES. 

young  woman  who  went  to  her  reward  through  the  dreary 
road  of  consumption  about  three  years  after  this.  She  had 
been  engaged  for  two  or  three  years  to  my  friend  Dr.  Leonidas 
Shackelford,  who  insisted  on  her  marrying  him  almost  on  her 
deathbed.  As  for  myself,  I  know  that  I  did  the  right  thing  in 
coming  into  full  connection  with  the  Church.  Its  communion 
and  fellowship  have  been  of  great  service  in  guarding  me 
against  lapses  in  conduct  and  in  keeping  alive  my  interest  in  the 
subject  of  religion.  I  needed  all  the  help  I  could  get  while  I 
was  trying  to  work  out  the  problem  of  salvation  for  myself. 
I  read  the  Bible  regularly  and  such  other  religious  books  as 
fell  in  my  way.  I  think  that  Rev.  Paul  F.  Stearns,  a  local 
preacher,  gave  me  valuable  help  at  this  time. 

I  felt  that  I  could  not  let  the  matter  of  my  personal  relation 
to  God  remain  in  an  unsatisfactory  state.  I  prayed  almost  con- 
stantly, even  at  the  desk  in  the  midst  of  my  studies.  I  fasted 
regularly  every  Friday.  I  retired  for  secret  prayer  whenever 
opportunity  was  presented.  At  times  these  exercises  would 
quiet  my  mind  temporarily,  but  the  old  gloom  would  settle  back 
over  my  spirit.  I  was  sometimes  tempted  to  give  up  the  whole 
thing  as  an  attainment  not  intended  for  me.  But  in  this  retro- 
grade course  I  saw  no  hope  of  peace  and  security.  Out  of  a 
deep  sense  of  my  need  I  renewed  my  efforts  day  after  day, 
sometimes  spending  whole  afternoons  in  the  woods  in  great 
agony  of  prayer  and  supplication.  One  afternoon  in  May, 
1856,  during  the  evening  recess,  I  retired,  as  usual.  As  "into 
the  woods  my  Master  went,  clean  forspent,  forspent"  under 
the  weight  of  the  world's  sin,  so  into  the  woods  I  went,  worn 
and  weary  and  weighed  down  by  the  guilt  of  my  own  sin.  As 
I  was  in  the  act  of  kneeling  in  my  accustomed  place,  mentally 
saying,  "O  Christ,  I  commit  my  all  to  thee;  I  have  no  other 
hope/'  suddenly  I  felt  the  load  lifted  from  my  heart.  For  this 
I  devoutly  thanked  God  and  returned  to  the  schoolhouse  with  a 
buoyant  spirit  and  an  elastic  step.  I  retired  that  night  feeling 
some  apprehension  lest  my  old  gloom  should  settle  back  on  my 
spirit  as  it  had  often  done  before.  When  I  awoke  the  next 
morning1,  my  mind  was  clear  and  serene.  My  old  sense  of  sin 


REMINISCENCES.  77 

was  gone!  As  I  walked  alone  to  the  schoolhouse  with  my 
books  under  my  arm  the  clouds  had  a  soft  radiance  that  I  had 
never  seen  in  them  before.  They  seemed  to  declare  God's  love. 
This  frame  of  mind  lasted  for  weeks. 

My  spirit  became  clouded  again  when  through  distrust  I  lost 
my  faith  in  God's  love.  Several  months  afterwards  and  at 
intervals  during  the  next  year  or  two  I  fell  into  sore  and  pain- 
ful doubts.  During  this  clouded  state  of  mind  I  heard  a  good 
old  Scotch  local  preacher,  who  was  teaching  school  out  in  the 
country,  preach  a  sermon  from  the  text :  "Let  us  hold  fast  the 
profession  of  our  faith  without  wavering;  for  he  is  faithful 
that  promised."  This  text  has  been  a  sheet  anchor  to  my  faith 
through  all  these  years.  Let  all  know  that  we  not  only  "should 
earnestly  contend  for  the  faith  which  was  once  delivered  to 
the  saints"  as  a  doctrine ;  but  that  we  should  earnestly  strive  to 
keep  alive  in  ourselves  a  personal  faith  in  the  ascended  Christ, 
"who  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession  for  us." 

SCHOOL  AT  CHOCLAHANA. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Evans  I  learned  that 
the  people  over  in  Choctaw  County,  at  a  place  called  Choclahana, 
a  few  miles  below  Pushmataha,  wished  to  employ  a  teacher  for 
three  summer  months.  I  applied  for  the  place  and  secured  it. 
As  it  was  a  public  school,  I  had  to  stand  an  examination  for  a 
certificate  to  teach  in  the  public  schools.  As  soon  as  the  acad- 
emy closed  I  went  to  Butler,  the  county  seat  of  Choctaw,  and 
stood  my  examination  under  Rev.  Mr.  Burgess,  a  Presby- 
terian clergyman  and  County  Superintendent  of  Education. 
He  examined  me  in  spelling,  reading,  grammar,  rhetoric,  and 
arithmetic.  I  asked  him  to  examine  me  in  Latin,  Greek,  alge- 
bra, and  geometry,  as  I  was  fresh  in  those  subjects;  but  he 
declined  to  do  so,  saying  that  I  would  not  need  these  subjects 
in  the  public  schools.  He  wrote  out  a  certificate  in  due  form 
and  remarked  as  he  handed  it  to  me :  "This  will  entitle  you  to 
teach  in  the  public  schools  of  the  State  forever."  This  remark 
was  prophetic.  I  have  never  been  required  to  stand  another 
examination  for  a  teacher's  certificate. 


78  REMINISCENCES. 

During  this  session  at  Choclahana  I  boarded  with  Cap- 
tain William  Evans  and  walked  to  school,  a  distance  of 
about  two  miles.  I  have  a  distinct  recollection  of  two  incidents 
during  this  time.  One  morning  as  I  was  passing  by  old  Mr. 
Presley's  gate  I  saw  him  coming  out  to  meet  me,  wringing  his 
hands  and  crying  as  if  his  heart  would  break.  I  supposed  that 
something  dreadful  had  happened.  He  began  telling  me  in  an 
agony  of  distress  that  the  godless  way  we  were  living  at  Cap- 
tain Evans's  was  breaking  his  heart.  We  went  to  bed,  he  said, 
without  any  family  prayers  or  recognition  of  God's  providence 
over  us.  I  was  very  much  surprised  and  disturbed  at  the  old 
man's  distress,  for  I  suspected  that  his  mind  was  out  of  bal- 
ance. When  I  got  home  that  night,  I  stated  the  occurrence  to 
Captain  Evans.  He  broke  out  in  a  big  laugh,  saying:  "Old 
man  Presley  was  drunk.  He  never  has  a  spark  of  religion 
until  he  gets  drunk ;  then  he  is  the  most  religious  man  you  ever 
saw." 

One  day  two  of  my  schoolboys  had  a  fight.  One  of  them 
was  the  son  of  Mr.  Sikes,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
the  other  the  son  of  a  man  named  Hurst.  I  gave  both  boys  a 
whipping  for  violating  the  rule  that  prohibited  fighting.  This 
happened  on  Friday.  I  thought  no  more  of  the  matter  until 
Sunday  afternoon,  when  Captain  Evans  told  me  that  he  feared 
I  would  have  trouble  with  Mr.  Hurst;  that  Hurst  was  very 
angry  because  I  had  whipped  his  boy ;  and  that  he  was  a  high- 
tempered,  unreasonable  man  and  had  declared  that  he  was  go- 
ing to  whip  me.  Captain  Evans  assured  me  that  I  had  done 
right  and  that  the  trustees  would  sustain  me,  but  he  thought 
I  would  have  trouble  with  Hurst.  On  Monday  morning  I 
went  to  school  feeling  a  good  deal  of  concern  in  regard  to 
the  outcome  of  the  day.  I  began  the  morning  session  as  usual, 
and  in  a  short  time  I  saw  three  persons  coming  around  the 
head  of  a  hollow  the  way  the  Hurst  boys  always  came.  I  said 
to  myself:  "I  guess  I  am  in  for  a  difficulty,  but  I  am  not  going 
to  take  a  whipping  if  I  can  help  it.  I  will  keep  cool  and  try  to 
reason  with  the  man  and  show  him,  if  possible,  how  indispen- 
sable it  is  to  maintain  discipline  in  a  school."  There  was  lying 


REMINISCENCES.  79 

under  the  writing  desk  a  piece  of  plank  about  a  yard  long  and 
about  an  inch  thick.  I  thought:  "If  I  cannot  reason  with  him 
and  he  insists  on  attacking  me,  I  will  defend  myself  with  this 
piece  of  plank."  Just  then  three  boys  entered.  Along  with  the 
two  that  had  been  attending  was  a  younger  brother.  They 
spoke  very  pleasantly  and  said:  "Papa  has  sent  you  another 
boy."  So  ended  the  anticipated  collision.  I  was  very  much 
obliged  to  Mr.  Hurst  for  letting  me  off  so  lightly  and  for  say- 
ing in  act,  though  not  in  word,  that  he  had  not  lost  confidence 
in  me.  I  never  knew  why  he  had  changed  his  mind.  I  suppose 
that,  as  sometimes  happens  with  high-tempered  people,  his  fury 
had  burned  itself  out  and  left  his  mind  clear  to  see  that  I  was 
in  the  right.  This  was  the  only  trouble  I  had  during  that 
session.  At  the  close  I  was  paid  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars.  I  returned  to  the  Springs  about  the  first  of  November, 
1856. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Debating  Society — Elected  Assistant  Teacher — Burial  of  Mr.  Pierce — Miss 
Virginia  Shaw,  May  Queen — Political  Speaking — Fourth  of  July — Trip 
on  Horseback — First  Trip  to  Mobile. 

WK  had  a  debating  society  from  which  we  derived  much 
benefit  in  the  way  of  stimulation  to  good  reading  and  the 
acquisition  of  facility  in  original,  offhand  expression.  Among 
our  best  debaters  were  Leo  Shackelford,  James  Smith,  William 
Smith,  Newton  Phillips,  Thomas  West,  Mims  Walker,  Mac 
Walker,  William  Henry,  Adin  McNeil,  and  Hiram  Slay.  The 
finest  debater  we  had  was  Leo  Shackelford.  He  was  quick  at 
repartee,  witty,  sarcastic,  eloquent.  So  long  as  Shackelford  re- 
mained in  the  school  he  was  uniformly  chosen  first,  and  it  gen- 
erally fell  to  my  lot  to  be  chosen  first  on  the  opposite  side.  As 
well  as  I  remember,  he  and  I  were  always  pitted  against  each 
other  in  debate.  While  it  was  against  our  rules  to  indulge  in 
personalities,  we  were  as  severe  on  each  other's  arguments  as 
we  knew  how  to  be.  We  never  did  our  best  speaking  until  our 
blood  got  warm  enough  to  make  us  careless  about  how  roughly 
we  used  each  other's  arguments.  I  never  could  speak  my  best 
until  after  Shackelford  had  torn  my  arguments  to  shreds  and 
made  them  look  very  insignificant.  I  generally  had  the  advan- 
tage of  the  closing  speech.  I  regret  that  such  debating  societies 
seem  to  have  gone  out  of  fashion. 

Shackelford,  who  could  have  made  a  splendid  advocate  at  the 
bar,  studied  medicine  after  leaving  school,  became  a  division 
surgeon  during  the  war,  and  died  about  189/3  in  Meridian,  Mis- 
issippi.  James  Smith  died  from  the  effects  of  a  wound  received 
in  battle.  Newton  Phillips  studied  medicine,  became  a  physi- 
cian of  some  note,  and  died  a  few  years  ago  in  Atlanta.  Thom- 
as West  studied  medicine  and,  after  practicing  a  few  years, 
became  a  minister  and  was  a  presiding  elder  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Conference  for  a  number  of  years.  He  died  some  years 
ago.  Mims  Walker  survived  the  war,  became  a  successful 
farmer,  a  senator  from  Marengo  County  in  the  Alabama  Leg- 
(80) 


REMINISCENCES.  Si 

islature,  and  died  a  few  years  ago  at  his  home,  in  Faunsdale, 
Alabama.  Mac  Walker  was  wounded  in  the  war,  had  his  leg 
amputated,  and  died  from  the  effects  of  it.  I  have  lost  sight 
of  William  Henry,  Adin  McNeil,  and  Hiram  Slay. 

ELECTED  ASSISTANT  TEACHER. 

About  the  middle  of  the  year  1856-57  the  academy  had 
grown  too  large  to  be  taught  by  one  teacher,  and  the  trustees 
were  compelled  to  employ  an  assistant.  Mr.  Mellen  recom- 
mended me  for  the  place.  The  trustees  were  willing  to  em- 
ploy me;  but,  as  they  were  paying  the  salaries  of  the  teachers, 
they  did  not  wish  to  pay  me  much.  I  demanded  fifty  dollars  a 
month  and  the  privilege  of  reciting  as  many  lessons  with  the 
advanced  classes  as  I  could  prepare.  The  trustees  debated  the 
question  a  day  or  two  and  finally  came  to  my  terms.  Before 
the  end  of  the  session  I  had  saved  money  enough  to  pay  Colo- 
nel Yates  the  sums  he  had  paid  out  for  me  the  two  preceding 
sessions.  He  accepted  the  principal,  but  the  interest  he  would 
not  take. 

The  next  year  Mr.  Mellen  took  the  school  on  its  merits  and 
engaged  me  as  his  assistant,  allowing  me  one-third  of  the  net 
proceeds.  We  ran  the  school  on  this  plan  through  the  scholas- 
tic years  1857-58  and  1858-59.  My  share  of  the  income  was 
about  six  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Out  of  this  I  had  to  pay  my 
board,  make  up  for  the  indifferent  quality  of  my  clothing  in 
the  past  years,  pay  my  brother  Joel's  expenses  in  the  academy 
for  two  years,  and  assist  my  mother  while  she  lived.  While 
things  moved  on  in  rather  a  monotonous  way  during  my  last 
three  years  at  the  Springs,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  mention 
several  occurrences. 

The  room  in  which  I  taught  was  an  ell  to  the  main  building 
of  the  academy.  About  twenty-five  of  the  younger  boys  were 
assigned  to  me  in  this  room.  Mr.  Mellen  told  me  that  he  ex- 
pected these  boys  would  test  me  and  charged  me  not  to  let  them 
run  over  me.  When  the  first  offenses  arose,  I  used  the  switch 
freely  (I  now  think  too  freely)  ;  but  it  was  a  question  that  had 
to  be  decided,  whether  I  or  the  boys  should  rule.  During  the 
6 


82  REMINISCENCES. 

year  1910  I  met  two  excellent  gentlemen  who  were  boys  in  that 
room,  Mr.  V.  M.  West,  of  San  Antonio,  Texas,  and  Mr.  Rufus 
Gavin,  of  Alabama.  They  were  very  respectful  and  bore  tes- 
timony to  the  fact  that  I  was  master  in  that  ell  room  at  Pierce's 
Springs,  which  I  could  not  have  been  if  I  had  not  had  a  good 
backer  in  the  principal.  As  I  grew  older  and  my  dignity  be- 
came less  sensitive  I  almost  entirely  abandoned  punishment  with 
the  rod,  even  among  boys.  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  the  whip- 
ping post  can  be  entirely  done  away  with  in  a  boys'  school,  but 
I  am  sure  that  it  ought  to  be  kept  well  in  the  background. 

BURIAL  OF  MR.  PIERCE. 

In  the  winter  of  1857  Mr.  Harvey  Pierce  died.  Mrs.  Pierce 
was  anxious  to  have  her  husband  buried  according  to  the  rites 
of  the  Church.  Her  school  could  furnish  appropriate  music 
for  the  occasion,  but  there  was  no  preacher  accessible  to  read 
the  burial  service.  In  compliance  with  Mrs.  Pierce's  wishes,  I 
read  the  burial  service  used  by  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  we 
laid  him  away  under  the  solemn  pines  which  were  to  sing  his 
requiem.  Mr.  Pierce  had  come  South  and  settled  in  these  piney 
woods,  I  think,  in  quest  of  relief  from  a  pulmonary  trouble. 
Like  so  many  who  have  fled  from  "consumption's  ghastly 
form,"  he  found  relief  in  the  grave. 

Miss  VIRGINIA  SHAW,  MAY  QUEEN. 

On  the  first  day  of  May,  1857,  the  students  of  Mrs.  Pierce's 
school  elected  Miss  Virginia  Shaw  May  queen  and  chose  me 
to  perform  the  part  of  archbishop  in  crowning  her.  Miss  Shaw 
was  a  beautiful  girl  and  was  as  modest  and  lovely  in  character 
as  she  was  handsome  in  person.  I  felt  the  dignity  of  the  occa- 
sion and  did  my  best  to  measure  up  to  it.  Whatever  might  be 
said  of  the  archbishop  and  his  part  of  the  performance,  I  am 
sure  it  can  be  truthfully  said  that  there  never  was  a  more  beau- 
tiful May  queen  nor  one  that  sat  more  gracefully  on  the  throne. 
I  hope  that  her  life  has  been  as  free  from  sorrow  as  her  girl- 
hood was  fair  and  full  of  good  omens. 


REMINISCENCES.  83 

POLITICAL  SPEAKING. 

In  the  ante-bellum  days  we  had  political  speaking  of  a  sort 
that  I  have  never  heard  since.  During  one  of  these  campaigns 
in  Mississippi  Colonel  O.  R.  Singleton  and  Colonel  W.  A.  Lake 
were  running  for  Congress,  and  Mr.  Alex  Steele  was  running 
for  the  Legislature.  They  spoke  in  the  academy,  and  we  had 
a  great  day.  Colonel  Singleton  made  a  brilliant  speech,  setting 
forth  the  superior  advantages  that  would  accrue  from  the  suc- 
cess of  the  Democratic  party.  Colonel  Lake  spoke  on  the  great 
advantages  that  would  come  to  the  country  from  the  adoption 
of  the  principles  of  the  Whig  party.  They  were  followed  by 
Mr.  Steele,  who  drew  a  poetic  picture  of  the  commonwealth  of 
Mississippi  reflected  in  her  broad  and  placid  "Lake"  over  which 
no  little  "Singleton"  vessel  should  be  authorized  to  sail. 

Colonel  B.  F.  Estes,  whose  memory  ran  back  into  the  flush 
times  of  Mississippi,  took  great  pleasure  in  relating  the  won- 
derful political  contests  and  feats  of  oratory  in  those  days  of 
the  giants,  A.  G.  Brown,  Henry  S.  Foote,  and  S.  S.  Prentiss 
were  noted  men  of  that  time.  According  to  popular  estimate, 
as  well  as  the  opinion  of  such  men  as  Daniel  Webster  and  Ed- 
ward Everett,  Prentiss  was  the  greatest  natural  orator  that  ever 
appeared  in  Congress.  Prentiss  was  a  small  man  with  a  large 
head  and  chest  and  one  lame  leg,  on  account  of  which  he  al- 
ways carried  a  walking  cane.  In  one  of  his  political  campaigns 
he  spoke  in  a  town  where  there  was  a  menagerie  on  exhibition. 
He  arranged  to  stand  on  the  cage  of  the  lions  while  he  was 
speaking.  He  went  on  in  an  inimitable  strain  of  eloquence, 
describing  the  great  calamities  that  would  follow  from  the 
adoption  of  the  policies  of  his  political  opponents.  Just  as  he 
was  reaching  his  climax  he  ran  his  cane  down  into  the  lions' 
cage,  rousing  them  and  causing  them  to  set  up  a  furious  roar- 
ing, joined  by  all  the  other  animals  of  the  menagerie.  This  he 
construed  into  a  sign  of  the  coming  storm  of  popular  indig- 
nation if  the  principles  he  advocated  should  be  defeated. 

While  Colonel  Estes  was  a  great  admirer  of  Prentiss  as  an 
orator,  he  said  that  Prentiss  had  ruined  more  young  men  in 
Mississippi  than  all  the  other  public  men  combined,  because 


84  REMINISCENCES. 

Prentiss  could  carouse  all  night  and  go  into  the  courthouse  or 
on  the  stump  the  next  day  and  eclipse  all  other  men  by  his  be- 
witching oratory.  Many  young  men,  therefore,  caught  the  fal- 
lacious idea  that  the  way  to  glory  was  through  the  saloon. 
From  the  example  of  his  brilliant  genius,  coupled  with  his 
irregular  habits,  the  State  reared  a  generation  of  dissipated 
young  men  who  could  imitate  him  only  in  his  faulty  traits  and 
fatal  weaknesses,  to  which  he  himself  fell  a  victim  at  the  early 
age  of  forty-two. 

FOURTH  OF  JULY. 

In  July,  1857,  we  celebrated  the  "glorious  Fourth"  by  read- 
ing the  Declaration  of  Independence,  singing  patriotic  songs, 
and  making  speeches  that  stirred  the  souls  of  those  who  deliv- 
ered them.  On  this  occasion  my  friend  Phillips  and  I  made 
speeches.  I  do  not  remember  much  about  his  speech,  but  mine 
portrayed  the  perils  of  Washington's  army  crossing  the  Dela- 
ware and  traced  the  footsteps  of  his  soldiers  through  the  snow 
stained  by  the  blood  that  oozed  from  their  bare  feet.  Those 
were  stirring  times  when  we  were  cultivating  patriotic  senti- 
ments that  flowered  forth  from  the  heroic  actions  of  our  Revo- 
lutionary fathers.  We  made  much  of  the  Fourth  before  the 
war.  I  think  the  cultivation  of  a  patriotic  spirit  of  a  very 
intense  kind  bore  fruit  in  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  Confederate 
army  a  few  years  later.  No  doubt  the  same  thing  was  true  in 
regard  to  the  Federal  army.  No  people  can  be  great  who  do 
not  keep  alive  a  spirit  of  patriotism. 

"Ill  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
Where  wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay." 

TRIP  ON  HORSEBACK. 

During  the  vacation  of  1857  Newton  Phillips,  Zeke  Crocker, 
and  I  decided  to  take  a  trip  on  horseback  to  Vicksburg  in  order 
to  see  the  Mississippi  River.  These  young  men  were  class- 
mates and  intimate  friends  of  mine.  Phillips's  mother  lived 
some  thirty  miles  west  of  Pierce's  Springs.  Crocker  was  from 
Macon,  Georgia,  and  had  followed  Mr.  Mellen  to  Mississippi 


REMINISCENCES.  85 

to  be  a  student  in  his  school.  Phillips  used  one  of  his  mother's 
horses,  Crocker  rode  Mr.  Mellen's  horse,  and  my  friend  Colo- 
nel Yates  lent  me  a  fine,  nimble-footed  black  mule  that  was 
noted  for  its  good  wind  and  rapid  gaits.  We  carried  our 
clothes  in  saddlebags,  an  article  I  have  not  seen  for  many  years. 
We  made  a  stop  of  a  few  days  at  Mrs.  Phillips's  and  attended 
a  protracted  meeting  in  the  neighborhood  conducted  by  the 
Baptist  people.  During  one  of  the  morning  services  the  preach- 
er called  on  me  to  lead  in  prayer.  I  was  surprised  and  some- 
what excited,  thinking  that  I  was  a  stranger  in  the  community. 
I  responded  to  the  request  as  best  I  could,  as  it  was  according 
to  my  previously  formed  purpose  to  stand  by  my  Christian 
convictions  at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  a  thing  I  would  advise 
all  young  Christians  to  do. 

When  we  reached  Brandon,  twelve  miles  east  of  Jackson, 
Phillips  was  taken  violently  sick  with  fever.  We  had  to  stop 
there  and  wait  for  his  recovery,  which  required  about  two 
weeks.  As  soon  as  he  was  out  of  danger  I  went  over  to  Ray- 
mond, about  fifteen  miles  west  of  Jackson,  to  visit  my  aunt, 
Mrs.  Jones,  who  had  moved  there  some  years  before.  This  was 
the  last  time  I  ever  saw  her  or  any  of  her  family.  This  was 
also  my  first  and  last  visit  to  the  capital  of  Mississippi,  which 
was  not  then  an  imposing  city. 

On  my  return  to  Brandon  I  found  Phillips  able  to  travel.  As 
the  weather  was  intensely  hot  and  he  was  still  weak,  we  decid- 
ed not  to  attempt  to  go  any  farther  west.  So  we  failed  to  see 
the  great  "Father  of  Waters"  at  that  time.  But  we  had  a  most 
enjoyable  trip  riding  leisurely  through  the  country.  The  hos- 
pitality of  the  Southern  people  before  the  war  was  sufficient  to 
meet  all  demands.  People's  houses  were  always  cheerfully 
opened  to  us  and  generally  without  any  charge  for  us  or  our 
horses.  I  wish  that  I  could  see  that  old-time  hospitality  come 
back.  I  may  say  here  that  I  never  knew  in  those  ante-bellum 
days  anybody  to  be  turned  away  who  applied  for  a  night's 
lodging.  This  was  the  fashion  not  only  with  the  rich;  it  was 
so  in  the  homes  of  all.  If  a  charge  was  made,  it  was  moderate. 

On  our  return  we  left  Phillips  at  his  mother's,  and  Crocker 


86  REMINISCENCES. 

stopped  at  Pierce's  Springs.  My  mule  had  behaved  admirably 
all  through  this  journey  of  several  hundred  miles;  but,  mule- 
like,  it  took  a  crazy  freak  while  I  was  riding  quietly  along  the 
road  about  two  miles  from  home.  It  began  rearing  and  pitch- 
ing and  humping  its  back  until  the  saddle  got  down  on  its  neck, 
and  finally  I  went  over  its  head  into  the  middle  of  the  road. 
The  mule  then  stood  perfectly  still  and  seemed  to  be  well  satis- 
fied with  the  feat  it  had  performed.  I  had  long  prided  myself 
on  my  good  horsemanship  and  was  inclined  to  attribute  the  fall 
to  the  defect  of  the  saddle  girt.  I  remounted  and  rode  home  in 
a  very  quiet  manner.  The  next  day  I  went  to  return  the  mule  to 
its  owner.  It  proceeded  finely  until  I  got  within  about  three 
hundred  yards  of  Colonel  Yates's  house,  when  it  pretended  to 
be  awfully  frightened  at  a  hog,  turned  suddenly  on  its  hind 
feet,  and  began  plunging  down  the  slant  of  a  hill.  This  per- 
formance was  kept  up  until  the  same  thing  happened  as  on  the 
day  before,  with  this  difference,  that  I  had  a  much  longer  fall 
over  the  mule's  head  down  the  hill.  I  struck  the  ground  on  my 
breast,  breaking  the  force  of  the  fall  the  best  I  could  with  my 
hands.  I  rose  to  my  feet  quickly ;  but  found  that  I  could  not 
breathe,  it  seemed  to  me,  for  a  minute  or  two.  This  was  the 
first  time  I  had  ever  had  the  breath  knocked  out  of  me.  It  was 
no  pleasant  feeling  not  to  be  able  to  breathe.  On  recovering  my 
breath  I  mounted  and  rode  leisurely  to  the  house  with  the  con- 
ceit knocked  out  of  my  fancied  ability  to  ride  any  kind  of  an 
animal  that  wore  a  saddle.  The  psalmist  says:  "A  horse  is  a 
vain  thing  for  safety."  I  know  that  a  mule  is. 

FIRST  TRIP  TO  MOBILE. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  summer  I  made  my  first  trip  to 
Mobile,  which  had  been  familiar  to  my  ears  from  my  earliest 
recollection  as  the  big  place  from  which  all  the  nice  things 
came.  Settled  by  the  French  under  Bienville  in  1702  at 
Twenty-Seven-Mile  Bluff  and  moved  to  the  present  site  in 
1711,  it  had  remained  stationary  in  size  for  over  a  century.  In 
1813  it  had  only  five  hundred  inhabitants;  in  1819,  when  Ala- 
bama attained  her  Statehood,  it  had  fifteen  hundred;  in  1830  it 


REMINISCENCES.  87 

had  over  three  thousand;  in  1840,  twelve  thousand;  in  1850, 
twenty  thousand;  in  1857,  nearly  thirty  thousand.  This  was 
then  considered  a  phenomenal  growth ;  but  the  city  had  all  the 
natural  advantages  of  location  that  could  be  desired.  It  had 
the  only  seaport  in  the  State.  It  had  the  two  navigable  rivers 
reaching  out  like  long  arms  into  the  eastern  and  western  por- 
tions of  the  State.  Except  for  a  narrow  strip  in  the  Tennessee 
Valley  and  a  little  strip  bordering  on  the  Chattahoochee,  Mobile 
was  the  emporium  for  the  entire  territory  of  Alabama.  The 
wonder  is  that  the  city  did  not  grow  more.  Compared  with  its 
natural  advantages,  it  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  times.  Dur- 
ing the  four  decades  from  1860  to  1900  it  grew  very  little. 
This  was  due  to  three  things:  the  prevalence  of  epidemics  of 
yellow  fever,  the  intensely  conservative  spirit  of  the  business 
men,  and  the  building  of  railroads  throughout  the  country,  that 
gigantic  enterprise  which  makes  and  destroys  towns,  changes 
the  currents  of  trade,  and  shifts  the  centers  of  population.  The 
growth  of  Selma,  Montgomery,  and  Birmingham  through  the 
influence  of  railroads  has  diverted  trade  from  Mobile. 

When  I  first  visited  the  city,  in  1857,  what  impressed  me 
most  was  the  multitudinous  swarm  of  mosquitoes  that  filled  the 
air  like  the  Egyptian  plague  of  flies,  even  more  deadly  than 
the  Egyptian  pest.  The  very  next  year  the  city  was  visited  by 
one  of  the  worst  epidemics  in  its  history,  originating,  as  has 
since  been  proved,  from  these  mosquitoes.  This  epidemic  lasted 
until  frost,  which  did  not  come  until  late  in  December.  The 
fever  killed  thousands  of  people  in  and  around  the  city,  extend- 
ing up  the  river  as  far  as  Choctaw  County,  and  created  the 
greatest  consternation  all  over  the  country.  As  medical  science 
has  discovered  a  remedy  against  this  pestilence,  Mobile  is  re- 
lieved of  this  barrier  to  its  progress.  Its  citizens  during  the 
last  two  decades  have  shown  a  commendable  spirit  of  enterprise. 
But  many  Alabamians  who  feel  an  abiding  interest  in  the  pros- 
perity of  Mobile  believe  that  its  people  can  never  build  up  a 
noble  city  upon  the  liquor  business  as  a  prominent  source  of 
revenue,  nor  can  they  support  a  morally  elevating  system  of 
education  on  a  basis  that  is  demoralizing  in  all  of  its  tenden- 


88  REMINISCENCES. 

cies,  nor  can  they  cut  themselves  off  from  the  rest  of  the  State 
in  its  best  sentiments  for  law  and  order  without  doing  harm  to 
the  whole  of  Alabama  and  in  the  end  to  Mobile  itself.  The 
same  may  be  said  in  reference  to  Montgomery  and  Birming- 
ham. 

On  my  first  trip  I  visited  the  public  parks,  Government  and 
Dauphin  Streets,  took  a  drive  on  the  noted  Shell  Road,  made 
my  purchases,  and  returned  home,  proud  that  I  had  seen  the 
greatest  city  of  my  native  State  and  had  taken  my  first  ride  on 
a  railroad. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Mother  and  Brothers — Mrs.  Susan  Huntington  (Bush)  Mellen — Going  to 
College — Dr.  George  Frederick  Mellen — John  Parker  and  the  Erosophic 
Society. 

WHILE  I  knew  that  my  mother's  health  was  feeble,  I  did 
not  know  that  the  end  was  near.  Early  one  morning  in 
January,  1858,  a  message  came  to  Pierce's  Springs  announcing 
that  she  was  dead.  She  had  departed  suddenly,  while  I  knew 
not  of  her  going.  It  has  always  been  a  source  of  profound  re- 
gret that  I  was  not  with  her  in  her  last  hours.  We  buried  her 
beside  father  and  grandmother  in  the  old  family  graveyard, 
near  Puscus  Bridge. 

Some  men  have  had  more  celebrated  mothers,  but  none  more 
true.  If  she  had  been  educated  and  well  informed  in  the 
world's  literature,  she  might  have  impressed  my  boyhood  more 
than  she  did.  She  left  South  Carolina  when  she  was  too  young 
to  have  received  much  education.  She  grew  up  in  this  country 
at  a  time  when  school  advantages  were  few  and  poor.  In  some 
sparsely  settled  neighborhoods  there  were  no  schools  of  any 
sort;  besides,  Mrs.  Gorham's  widowhood  and  straitened  cir- 
cumstances must  have  made  it  difficult  for  her  to  support  her 
family,  though  I  never  heard  this  mentioned  as  a  ground  of 
complaint.  A  brave  heart  beat  in  her  bosom  which  could  face 
the  hardest  conditions  and  yet  be  cheerful.  The  same  spirit 
dwelt  in  my  mother,  who,  without  any  enlightenment  from 
school  culture,  bravely  fought  the  battle  of  life. 

I  did  not  willingly  give  her  trouble.  I  never  felt  easy  when 
I  was  away  from  home  unless  I  had  told  her  where  I  was  going 
and  how  long  I  might  be  gone.  But  her  real  worth  did  not 
appear  to  me  then.  I  wish  now  that  I  had  had  filial  insight 
enough  to  see  qualities  of  the  highest  kind  shining  out  through 
her  untiring  industry,  her  unshaken  patience,  her  inflexible 
fidelity,  and  her  decision  of  character  as  she  endured  all  things 
without  one  word  of  complaint.  As  I  move  down  the  stream 

(89) 


9o  REMINISCENCES. 

of  time  toward  the  boundless  sea  and  look  back  upon  her  bent 
form,  "it  comes  to  me  o'er  and  o'er"  that  it  will  require  a  lon- 
ger measuring  line  than  time  can  furnish  to  measure  her  moral 
stature.  O  mother,  when  I  remember  thee  spinning  at  the 
wheel  or  plying  the  loom  and  still  hear  thy  cheerful  voice 
sounding  in  my  ears,  I  know  that  the  diamond  in  thy  character 
which  was  not  polished  to  shine  in  this  muddy  mine  of  earthly 
toil  shines  forth  in  its  true  brilliancy  in  another  sphere!  I 
have  learned  many  valuable  lessons  from  the  highly  educated 
and  have  congratulated  myself  on  this  good  fortune;  but  I 
have  never  learned  so  inestimable  a  lesson  from  all  of  my  eru- 
dite teachers  combined  as  I  learned  from  my  mother's  example 
in  her  daily  round  of  toil  looking  for  no  reward  but  the  smile 
of  God. 

"As  once  upon  her  breast 

Fearless  and  well  contented  I  lay, 
So  let  her  heart,  on  Thee  at  rest, 
Feel  tears  depart  and  troubles  fade  away." 

MY  BROTHERS. 

My  brother  Joel  was  two  years  younger  than  I.  He  was 
always  a  good  boy.  When  he  was  about  nineteen  years  old,  he 
felt  deeply  the  need  of  a  change  in  his  inner  life.  He  seemed 
in  the  deepest  distress  for  a  time;  but  when  his  faith  did  grasp 
the  ground  of  his  salvation,  his  countenance  was  perfectly  se- 
rene. In  speaking  of  this  change  that  had  so  suddenly  come 
over  him  and  had  so  powerfully  impressed  his  imagination,  he 
said :  "I  saw  Him  when  he  forgave  my  sins."  He  lived;  in  this 
serene  faith  until  he  died,  in  November,  1859.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  I  was  a  student  in  the  University  of  Alabama. 
Rev.  Wiley  Thomas,  who  conducted  his  funeral,  said :  "Of  the 
two  brothers  who  have  been  members  of  our  Church,  one  has 
gone  to  graduate  from  the  University  of  Alabama,  and  the  oth- 
er has  graduated  into  heaven."  He  had  spent  two  years  with 
me  at  Pierce's  Springs  and  then  taught  school  until  his  health 
failed.  On  my  recent  visit  to  Choctaw  County  I  stayed  all 
night  with  Mr.  J.  R.  Land,  of  Melvin,  whose  wife  was  once  a 


REMINISCENCES.  91 

pupil  of  my  brother's.  She  bore  testimony  to  his  fine  religious 
character. 

During  my  visit  in  1910  to  the  old  cemetery,  where  father, 
mother,  Joel,  and  grandmother  were  buried  more  than  half  a 
century  ago,  I  found  nothing  to  mark  their  last  resting  places. 
Out  of  a  piece  of  durable  Georgia  marble  I  had  made  a  tomb- 
stone, upon  which  is  inscribed  this  memorial : 

DRURY  MASSEY, 
VASHTI  MASSEY, 

JOEL  MASSEY, 

ANN  GORHAM. 

They  obeyed  the  divine  call  to   "do  justly,  and 
to  love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God." 

My  friend  Mr.  J.  R.  Land  kindly  placed  this  over  their  graves 
in  March,  1911. 

My  brother  Drury  was  four  years  younger  than  I.  He 
attended  school  in  the  neighborhood  for  several  terms,  but 
seemed  more  interested  in  business  than  in  education.  Near 
the  beginning  of  the  war  he  enlisted  in  the  Twenty-Third  Ala- 
bama Regiment,  commanded  by  Colonel  Frank  Beck,  of  Cam- 
den.  He  served  with  this  regiment  through  the  Mississippi 
campaign.  After  the  fall  of  Vicksburg  his  command  was  unit- 
ed with  the  Army  of  Tennessee.  He  was  killed  at  the  battle 
of  Resaca,  Georgia,  which  was  fought  on  the  I4th  and  I5th 
days  of  May,  1864.  As  the  Confederate  army  was  retreating, 
he  was  left  on  the  battle  field  and,  like  so  many  others,  sleeps  in 
an  unknown  grave.  I  knew  not  of  his  death  until  informed 
sometime  afterwards  by  members  of  his  command.  He  bore 
the  reputation  of  being  a  good  soldier.  While  he  did  his  duty 
as  a  soldier  of  his  country,  I  cherish  the  hope,  which  I  have  al- 
ways entertained  in  regard  to  my  other  relatives,  that  he  was 
a  good  soldier  of  the  cross  and  that,  when  he  passed  over  the 
river,  he  found  rest  "under  the  shade  of  the  trees"  of  life, 
whither  the  immortal  Stonewall  Jackson  had  gone  on  May  10, 
1863,  just  one  year  before. 

I  quote  here,  as  expressive  of  my  feeling,  Father  Ryan's  la- 


92  REMINISCENCES. 

ment  over  his  brother,  David  J.   Ryan,  who  was  killed  and 
buried  on  the  battle  field  : 

"Thou  art  sleeping,  brother,  sleeping, 

In  thy  lonely  battle  grave. 
Shadows  o'er  the  past  are  creeping; 
Death,  the  reaper,  still  is  reaping; 
Years  have  swept,  and  years  are  sweeping 
Many  a  memory  from  my  keeping; 
But  I'm  waiting  still  and  weeping 
For  my  beautiful  and  brave." 

In  the  fall  of  1858  I  had  a  serious  attack  of  chills  and  fever 
that  kept  returning  periodically  until  I  was  reduced  to  a  very 
low  state  of  health.  Through  the  kindness  of  my  friend  Colo- 
nel B.  F.  Estes  I  was  taken  to  his  home,  two  miles  in  the  coun- 
try, and  most  tenderly  cared  for  until  I  was  well  enough  to 
return  to  work.  I  shall  always  gratefully  remember  those  days, 
rendered  so  bright  and  cheerful  by  the  exhaustless  store  of  an- 
ecdotes that  the  Colonel  was  fond  of  telling  and  by  the  delicate 
ministries  of  Mrs.  Estes  and  her  daughter,  Miss  Margaret. 
They  have  all  long  since  passed  from  the  ministries  of  earth. 
They  made  the  world  brighter  by  their  generous  hospitality 
and  unselfish  services  to  the  sick  and  the  homeless.  "Peace  be 
to  their  ashes  and  blessing  pronounced  on  those  who  care  for 
the  sick  and  take  the  homeless  in!" 

MRS.  SUSAN  HUNTINGTON  MELLEN. 

On  the  24th  day  of  August,  1858,  Mr.  S.  S.  Mellen  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Susan  Huntington  Bush,  of  Westfield,  Massachu- 
setts. As  I  had  a  pleasant  home  in  her  family  during  the  year 
1858-59,  and  as  she  thought  fit  to  hold  me  up  to  her  son  in  his 
boyhood  "as  a  model  worthy  of  all  imitation,"  it  is  appropriate 
that  I  should  make  honorable  mention  of  her.  She  was  born  in 
Whately,  Massachusetts,  November  30,  1830.  She  came  South 
as  a  teacher  in  Faunsdale,  Alabama,  \vhere  Mr.  Mellen  met  her 
in  the  hospitable  home  of  Mr.  Charles  Walker.  She  \vas  a 
lovely  woman,  who  adorned  every  station  she  filled  in  her  pas- 
sage to  the  better  land. 

In  the  summer  of  1859  she  was  sick  nigh  unto  death.     Mr. 


REMINISCENCES.  93 

Mellen  was  in  great  distress  on  account  of  her  condition.  He 
and  Dr.  John  Mclntosh,  the  attending  physician,  desired  to  call 
in  Dr.  Council  Wooten  Moore,  a  noted  physician,  who  lived 
near  Twitchell's  Mill,  twelve  miles  south  of  Pierce's  Springs. 
Mr.  Mellen  asked  me  to  go  for  Dr.  Moore  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  instructed  me  not  to  return  without  him.  It  was  a  very  hot 
day  in  July.  In  my  anxiety  I  gave  the  poor  horse  an  unmerci- 
ful ride,  \\lien  I  reached  Dr.  Moore's  I  had  the  good  fortune 
to  find  him  at  home,  but  getting  ready  to  leave.  Before  dis- 
mounting I  told  him  my  business  and  was  greatly  disappointed 
when  he  informed  me  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to*  go. 
I  told  him  that  Mrs.  Mellen  was  desperately  ill  and  that  Mr. 
Mellen  was  in  distress  and  had  directed  me  not  to  return  with- 
out him.  As  I  dismounted  from  the  jaded  horse  I  said  with  a 
determination  which  I  meant  to  carry  out :  ''Doctor,  I  am  not 
going  back  until  you  go!"  After  a  few  moments'  deliberation, 
lie  replied :  "Well,  come  in  and  get  dinner  and  let  your  horse 
rest.  I  will  go."  Mrs.  Mellen  recovered  and  lived  many  years. 
What  effect  my  determination  had  in  her  case  I  do  not  know, 
but  I  have  always  felt  glad  that  I  made  this  determined  effort 
in  her  behalf. 

GOING  TO  COLLEGE. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  scholastic  year  1858-59  I  had  to 
take  into  serious  consideration  whether  I  should  let  my  educa- 
tion stop  where  it  was  or  try  to  crown  it  with  a  collegiate 
course.  As  stated  on  a  former  page,  my  scholarship  had  a 
good  foundation,  but  was  very  incomplete  at  the  top.  It  was 
like  the  well-laid  foundation  of  a  house  with  the  upper  stories 
and  most  useful  and  ornamental  parts  left  unfinished.  I  was 
aware  of  this  incompleteness.  But  it  would  take  three  years 
to  put  the  collegiate  capstone  on.  This  meant  three  years  of 
hard  work,  with  no  immediate  income,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
a  constant  outgo.  I  had  not  money  enough  left  to  carry  me 
through  one  year.  Going  to  college  would,  therefore,  incur  a 
larger  debt  than  any  sum  I  had  ever  seen  at  one  time.  A  thou- 
sand dollars  seemed  an  immense  sum. 


94  REMINISCENCES. 

I  was  now  well  advanced  in  my  twenty-fifth  year.  I  could 
make  a  living  with  what  education  I  already  had.  And  among 
the  reasons  adverse  to  the  plan  of  completing  my  education 
was  the  fact  that  I  must  dismiss  for  a  long  time  at  least,  if  not 
altogether,  the  thought  of  a  closer  relation  with  my  friend  Miss 
Margaret  Estes,  for  whom  I  fancied  I  entertained  something 
more  than  a  friendly  sentiment. 

I  doubt  whether  I  would  have  had  the  moral  force  to  go  on 
but  for  the  backing  of  two  of  the  most  substantial  friends  I 
ever  had.  Professor  Mellen  advised  me  to  go  to  college.  Colo- 
nel Yates  approved  the  plan  and  voluntarily  offered  to  lend  me 
the  funds  necessary  to  complete  my  college  course.  The  confi- 
dence reposed  in  me  by  these  men  was  a  great  moral  tonic.  I 
was  at  the  dividing  line  between  the  experiences  of  the  past, 
which  were  real,  and  the  inspiring  visions  of  the  future,  which 
might  be  illusory — the  line  between  the  real  and  the  possible, 
between  the  known  and  the  unknown.  The  opportunity  of 
going  to  college  was  open  to  me.  If  I  should  not  avail  myself 
of  it,  I  had  a  presentiment  that  the  failure  would  always  be  a 
cause  of  regret.  Above  the  urgent  clamor  of  feeling  was  heard 
the  imperative  call  of  obligation  to  make  the  most  of  myself. 
I  had  heard  of  the  saying  of  Milton :  "I  have  chosen  labor  for 
my  portion."  I  had  read  the  lines  of  the  poet : 

"I  chose  thee,  Ease,  and  Glory  fled 
Indignant  at  the  choice  I  made." 

My  mind  did  not  remain  long  in  the  uncomfortable  state  of 
vacillation  between  these  two  sets  of  motives  that  were  tugging 
at  my  will.  I  resolved  to  go  on  with  my  education,  whatever 
might  befall. 

During  the  fifty-seven  years  since  that  resolution  was  made 
I  have  had  more  gratitude  to  God  and  more  respect  for  myself 
for  having  made  the  decision  in  favor  of  labor  and  self-sur- 
render to  my  highest  ideals  and  opposed  to  the  desire  for  ease 
and  immediate  gratification.  I  state  this  for  the  benefit  of  the 
young  people  who  may  read  this  story.  There  are  in  every  nor- 
mal human  being  undreamed-of  capacities  for  high  moral 


REMINISCENCES.  95 

achievement.  These  capacities  can  be  stimulated  by  the  good 
example,  the  encouraging  words,  and  material  aid  of  other  peo- 
ple. But  our  ultimate  decisions  must  be  made  by  each  of  us  for 
himself.  Our  destiny  is  of  our  own  making.  "Quisque  suae 
fortunae  faber." 

Now  we  had  to  decide  on  the  college.  Professor  Mellen 
for  some  reasons  would  have  been  pleased  to  have  me  go  to 
Williams  College,  his  Alma  Mater.  Whether  he  knew  the  dis- 
tance was  too  great  for  my  means  or  whether  he  had  a  pre- 
monition of  the  coming  conflict  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  I  never  knew.  But  he  did  not  insist  on  my  going  to 
Williams.  In  the  conversations  on  the  subject  he  mentioned 
Emory  College,  of  Georgia.  Some  of  my  other  friends  named 
the  Southern  University,  at  Greensboro,  a  new  school  just  ad- 
vertised to  open  in  the  fall  of  1859.  My  friend  Colonel  Yates 
favored  the  University  of  Alabama.  I  was  launching  my  bark 
on  unknown  seas.  I  was  willing  to  be  guided  by  the  clearest 
indications.  An  all-wise  Providence,  I  believe,  guided  me  in 
the  best  way,  as  will  appear  from  this  narrative.  It  would 
hardly  have  been  pleasant  or  possible  for  me  to  have  remained 
till  graduation  in  Williams  College  during  the  storm  and  stress 
of  the  Civil  War.  Emory  and  the  Southern  University  were 
practically  closed  the  first  year  of  the  conflict,  so  that  I  could 
not  have  finished  in  either  of  these  schools.  The  University  of 
Alabama  was  made  a  military  school  in  the  fall  of  1860  and 
continued  its  work  to  the  close  of  the  war.  Under  this  condi- 
tion I  was  able  to  finish  my  college  course  in  1862.  But  more 
of  this  later. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  in  1859  I  made  my  farewell  ad- 
dress before  the  school  and  community  of  Pierce's  Springs, 
where  I  had  spent  the  previous  six  years.  At  the  request  of 
Mr.  Mellen,  I  gave  him  a  copy  of  this  address,  which  his  son, 
Dr.  George  F.  Mellen,  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  found  among  his 
father's  papers  and  sent  to  me  in  1910.  I  prize  this  as  a  me- 
mento of  those  pleasant  and  profitable  years  spent  at  Pierce's 
Springs. 


96  REMINISCENCES. 

DR.  GEORGE  FREDERICK  M ELLEN. 

As  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  George  Frederick  Mellen  for  valu- 
able aid  in  the  preparation  of  these  sketches,  it  is  meet  and 
right  that  I  make  appreciative  mention  of  him.  He  was  born 
at  Pierce's  Springs,  Mississippi,  June  27,  1859.  He  is  the  old- 
est son  of  Dr.  S.  S.  Mellen,  under  whom  he  was  carefully  pre- 
pared for  college.  He  entered  the  University  of  Alabama  in 
the  fall  of  1877  and  was  graduated  with  the  M.A.  degree  in 
the  summer  of  1879.  After  teaching  some  years,  he  went  to 
Germany  and  studied  in  Leipsic,  taking  the  degree  of  Ph.D.  in 
1890.  On  his  return  to  the  United  States  he  was  elected  to  the 
chair  of  Greek  in  the  University  of  Tennessee,  which  he  volun- 
tarily relinquished  in  1900  on  account  of  health  considerations. 
He  is  now  living  on  his  farm,  near  Knoxville,  Tennessee,  and 
is  engaged  in  historical  and  literary  work. 

JOHN  PARKER  AND  THE  EROSOPHIC  SOCIETY. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September,  1859,  I  set  out  for  Tusca- 
loosa.  I  traveled  over  the  Mobile  and  Ohio  Railroad  from 
Shubuta  to  Macon  Station  and  from  there  to  Tuscaloosa  by 
stagecoach.  Tuscaloosa  could  be  reached  then  only  by  stage- 
coach or  private  conveyance,  except  in  the  winter,  when  small 
stern-wheel  boats  can  go  from  Mobile  to  Tuscaloosa.  The  riv- 
er was  generally  so  low  in  the  summer  and  fall  that  the  boats 
could  not  run.  Tuscaloosa,  which  now  has  three  railroads,  had 
none  in  1859. 

On  this  journey  I  fell  in  with  John  Parker,  a  younger  broth- 
er of  Osborne  and  \Yilliam  A.  Parker,  who  had  several  years 
before  made  the  highest  grades  ever  made  at  the  University 
prior  to  the  war.  Their  averages  were  practically  one  hundred. 
I  shall  anticipate  and  add  a  sentence  or  two  in  regard  to  these 
brilliant  young  men.  Osborne  had  married  Miss  May  Owen,  a 
beautiful  lady  of  Tuscaloosa,  on  the  evening  of  his  graduation, 
had  studied  law,  and  started  out  with  most  brilliant  prospects, 
but  was  at  this  time  (September,  1859)  in  the  last  stages  of 
consumption.  He  was  carried  to  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  in  quest 
of  health  and  in  a  few  weeks  was  brought  home  to  be  buried. 


REMINISCENCES.  97 

His  passing  was  an  illustration  of  the  truth  expressed  in  Gray's 
line,  "The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave."  But  when 
one  has  to  go  to  the  grave  it  is  a  praiseworthy  thing  to  leave 
behind  him  something  worthy  of  remembrance.  Mr.  William 
Parker  studied  in  Europe  and  was  for  many  years  Professor 
of  Modern  Languages  in  the  University. 

John  Parker  had  been  in  college  a  year  or  two  before  my 
entrance  and  was  a  member  of  the  senior  class.  He  seemed  to 
be  on  the  lookout  for  new  students,  and  when  he  found  that  I 
was  on  my  way  to  the  University  he  was  very  kind  in  giving  me 
some  information  in  regard  to  student  life.  This  was  how  best 
to  secure  and  furnish  my  room  and  an  endeavor  to  impress 
upon  me  the  superior  advantages  of  his  literary  society,  stating 
that  it  was  the  larger  and  better  of  the  two  societies,  a  very 
natural  thing  for  a  loyal  member  to  do.  Through  his  courtesy 
and  that  of  Paul  Lewis  I  was  induced  to  join  the  Erosophic 
Society,  though  I  afterwards  found  some  of  my  warmest 
friends  in  the  Philomathic.  These  societies  were  an  important 
element  in  the  life  of  the  old  regime  of  the  University.  They 
promoted  a  good  deal  of  sound  reading  and  original  discussion. 
These  exercises  were  very  helpful  in  making  ready  and  effective 
speakers. 
7 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Tuscaloosa  and  the  University — Religious  Club — Mrs.  Sarah  Banks  Sims. 

ON  my  arrival  in  Tuscaloosa  I  put  up  at  Washington  Hall, 
in  the  city,  a  place  where  I  had  a  very  narrow  escape  on 
the  night  of  April  3,  1865,  which  will  be  described  on  a  later 
page.  I  found  that  the  University  did  not  open  until  the  next 
week.  This  gave  me  time  to  look  over  the  "City  of  Oaks,"  the 
"Druid  City,"  as  it  was  called,  the  third  capital  of  Alabama. 
The  town  is  situated  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Black  Warrior 
River,  just  below  the  falls,  on  an  elevated  plateau.  Both  river 
and  town  bear  the  name  of  an  Indian  chief,  which  in  the  Indian 
tongue  is  Tuscaloosa;  in  English,  Black  Warrior.  The  town 
has  wide  streets  set  with  beautiful  oaks.  It  had  in  1859  about 
two  thousand  inhabitants.  It  seemed  to  be  at  a  standstill,  if 
not  on  a  retrograde,  from  the  effect  of  moving  the  capital  to 
Montgomery  in  1847.  The  houses  on  the  back  streets  were 
rather  shabby-looking,  so  much  so  that  one  traveler  called  the 
place  a  "dilapidated  old  rookery."  Still  it  was  the  home  of  a 
good  deal  of  wealth,  for  the  most  part  in  the  hands  of  planters 
whose  farms  were  down  the  river  and  out  in  the  adjoining 
country  in  some  cases  thirty  or  forty  miles  south  in  the  cane- 
brake.  It  was,  no  doubt,  the  center  of  more  culture  than  any 
other  place  in  the  State.  On  the  main  streets,  especially  Greens- 
boro and  Main,  there  were  a  number  of  fine  residences,  such  as 
the  Battles',  the  Jemisons',  the  Eddinses',  the  Guilds',  the  Har- 
rises', the  Ormonds',  and  others.  It  was  the  home  of  the  fami- 
lies of  Ex-Governor  Henry  W.  Collier,  Ex-Governor  Joshua  L. 
Martin,  Judge  John  J.  Ormond,  Judge  Washington  Moody, 
and  Hon.  William  R.  Smith.  In  it  were  located  four  flourish- 
ing female  schools — the  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and 
Episcopal — all  well  filled  with  students  from  the  families  of 
the  best  people  of  that  section. 

The  Methodist  College  was  then  in  charge  of  Rev.  F.  M. 
Grace.    Soon  afterwards  it  went  into  the  hands  of  Mrs.  M.  J. 
(98) 


REMINISCENCES.  99 

T.  Saunders,  a  very  brilliant  lady,  who  taught  in  more  places 
than  any  other  person  I  have  ever  known.  To  her  I  was  in- 
debted for  many  courtesies.  The  Baptist  school  was  located  in 
the  old  Statehouse  and  was,  I  think,  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Josh- 
ua H.  Foster.  The  Presbyterian  school  was  conducted  by  Mrs:, 
Samuel  M.  Stafford,  whose  husband  had  been  for  many  years 
Professor  of  Latin  in  the  University.  The  Episcopal  school 
was  conducted  by  Mrs.  Tuomey,  the  widow  of  Professor  Mich- 
ael Tuomey,  a  noted  geologist,  who  was  brought  to  Alabama  to 
survey  its  mineral  lands  and  who,  while  he  was  engaged  in  this 
survey,  struck  his  hammer  on  the  rocks  where  Birmingham 
now  stands  and  prophesied:  "Here  will  be  a  great  city  some 
day." 

About  a  mile  northeast  of  the  town  of  Tuscaloosa  and  just 
opposite  the  falls  is  situated  the  University  on  a  plat  of  several 
hundred  acres,  a  most  eligible  site  for  an  institution  of  learn- 
ing. The  water  running  over  the  falls  is  nearly  always  audi- 
ble, quite  distinctly  when  the  atmosphere  is  still,  giving  a  ro- 
mantic effect  to  the  place. 

The  old  University  buildings  as  I  knew  them  in  1859  were 
located  on  a  campus  of  about  thirty  acres  and  consisted  of  the 
following:  The  Rotunda  in  the  center,  the  Madison  and  Jeffer- 
son Buildings  on  the  east,  the  Franklin  and  Washington  on 
the  west,  and  the  Lyceum  on  the  north.  Each  was  situated 
about  seventy-five  yards  from  the  Rotunda  and  connected  with 
it  by  a  gravel  walk  shaded  by  rows  of  beautiful  oaks  and  elms 
just  large  enough  to  be  in  all  their  glory  in  1859.  The  lower 
story  of  the  Rotunda  was  used  as  the  chapel.  In  this  we  as- 
sembled every  morning  for  prayers,  on  Sunday  afternoons  at 
three  o'clock  for  preaching,  and  for  all  other  public  occasions. 
The  second  story  was  used  as  the  library.  This  was  dome- 
shaped  and  had  some  of  the  properties  of  a  whispering  gallery. 
The  gentlest  whisper  on  one  side  could  be  heard  by  a  person  in 
the  focus  on  the  opposite  side.  Some  amusing  stories  were  told 
of  private  conversations  overheard  in  this  room.  The  Madison 
Building  contained  the  halls  of  the  two  literary  societies  and 
several  recitation  rooms.  The  Jefferson,  Franklin,  and  Wash- 


ioo  REMINISCENCES. 

ington  Buildings  were  all  used  as  dormitories.  Each  suite  con- 
sisted of  three  rooms,  one  large  room  in  front  for  study  and 
reception  and  two  smaller  rooms  for  sleeping  apartments.  The 
•Lyceum  contained  the  laboratories  and  several  recitation  rooms. 
In  its  cupola  was  located  the  college  hell  that  called  us  to  our 
duties.  Directly  south  of  the  Rotunda  and  across  the  street 
stood  the  President's  mansion,  distant  from  the  Rotunda  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  On  the  corners  of  the  campus 
were  five  professors'  houses.  Outside  the  campus,  toward 
town,  were  the  Observatory  and  another  professor's  residence. 
There  was  a  simplicity  and  convenience  about  this  group  of 
buildings  not  always  found  in  more  pretentious  systems  of 
architecture.  I  have  thus  gone  into  detail  because  these  old 
buildings  have  all  passed  away  except  the  Observatory  and  five 
professors'  houses.  Such  were  the  University  buildings  in  the 
fall  of  1859. 

On  the  arrival  of  William  Hopkins  and  Clay  Roberts,  two 
Choctaw  County  boys,  who  had  been  students  at  Pierce's 
Springs  and  who  had  asked  to  room  with  me,  we  proceeded  to 
secure  our  room.  There  was  not  much  choice,  as  we  found 
that  the  most  desirable  rooms  had  already  been  taken  by  the 
old  students.  The  room  assigned  us  was  Number  I  on  the 
first  floor  of  the  Franklin  Building,  southwest  from  the  Ro- 
tunda. Hopkins  and  Roberts  chose  the  corner  apartment,  and  I 
took  the  other.  We  furnished  our  room  with  rather  cheap 
furniture — hard  shuck  mattresses,  scanty  cover,  plain  water 
buckets,  tin  wash  pans,  tin  candlesticks,  and  star  candles. 
Kerosene  lamps  had  not  appeared  yet. 

While  waiting  to  get  our  rooms  ready  I  had  to  board  longer 
at  the  hotel  than  I  expected ;  and  the  furnishing  of  our  rooms, 
though  in  the  plainest  style,  had  cost  more  than  I  anticipated. 
In  addition  to  these  expenses,  I  found  that  we  were  required  to 
deposit  with  the  treasurer  of  the  University  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  our  board  for  the  first  term.  There  could  be  no  exception 
to  the  rule,  we  were  informed,  and  all  this  required  thirty-one 
dollars  more  than  I  had.  There  were  then  no  telegraph  or  tele- 
phone systems,  no  express  companies,  and  no  fast  mails  in  Ala- 


REMINISCENCES.  101 

bama.  I  went  to  Dr.  Garland,  the  President,  and  told  him  that 
I  was  in  trouble ;  that  I  lacked  thirty-one  dollars  of  having  mon- 
ey enough  to  pay  my  board  for  the  first  term ;  that  I  was  bor- 
rowing money  to  pay  my  expenses  and  was  reluctant  to  call  on 
my  friend  Colonel  Yates  so  soon,  as  he  might  think  I  was  not  so 
economical  as  a  borrower  should  be ;  and  that  perhaps  it  might 
be  best  for  me  to  return  home  and  go  to  work.  The  Doctor 
scanned  me  closely,  as  if  taking  the  measure  of  my  manhood, 
and  then  in  a  very  kind  manner  said:  "O,  I  will  fix  that. 
I  will  lend  you  thirty-one  dollars  until  it  is  convenient  for 
you  to  pay  it."  This  settled  the  matter  of  board  for  the  first 
term. 

I  passed  the  entrance  examination  and  was  enrolled  sopho- 
more along  with  forty-two  other  applicants  for  that  class. 
But  I  was  not  yet  in  an  open  sea  under  full  sail.  For  two  years 
and  a  half  I  had  been  teaching  the  elementary  studies  in  the 
academy  at  Pierce's  Springs.  This  had  absorbed  so  much  of 
my  time  and  energies  that  my  mind  had  apparently  lost  its 
grip  on  continuous  study.  Besides,  the  methods  in  the  Univer- 
sity were  different  from  those  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed. 
In  order  to  recover  my  power  of  application  and  adjust  myself 
to  the  new  system,  I  had  for  some  weeks  to  put  forth  effort 
that  was  painful  and  depressing.  I  know  of  no  more  discour- 
aging thing  than  to  find  one's  mind  failing  to  respond  to  his 
efforts.  By  persistent  endeavor  I  succeeded  in  getting  my  les- 
sons, but  there  was  no  lively  mental  activity  and  not  much 
pleasure  in  my  work.  Within  two  or  three  months  my  former 
pleasure  in  study  began  to  revive,  and  the  faculty  reported  that 
I  was  making  good  progress. 

During  this  year  our  class  studied  trigonometry,  descriptive 
geometry,  and  calculus.  In  English  we  took  courses  in  analy- 
sis of  the  English  language,  rhetoric,  and  logic,  with  essay- 
writing.  In  Latin  we  read  the  essays  of  Cicero,  the  histories 
of  Tacitus,  and  the  poems  of  Plautus,  carrying  at  the  same 
time  a  course  in  Latin  composition.  In  Greek  we  read  the 
"Iliad"  of  Homer,  the  "Crito"  of  Plato,  and  some  of  the  plays 
of  Sophocles,  together  with  a  course  in  Greek  composition  and 


102  REMINISCENCES. 

a  course  of  lectures  on  Greek  mythology.  We  had  no  mid-term 
examinations,  but  had  to  review  the  whole  ten  months'  work 
and  be  examined  on  it  all  during  the  last  six  weeks  of  the 
school  year.  This  was  a  pretty  trying  task,  as  the  examinations 
were  honest  and  thorough.  There  were  some  attempts  made  at 
cheating,  though  they  were  generally  detected  and  punished. 
We  could  not  give  or  receive  any  help  nor  use  any  unfair 
means  without  violating  our  word  of  honor.  The  penalty  for 
such  violation  was  expulsion.  The  examination  questions  were 
sent  to  New  York  to  be  printed. 

The  problem  among  the  indifferent  students  was  how  to  get 
hold  of  these  examination  questions.  The  professors  knew  this 
and  were  exceedingly  careful  to  guard  against  any  theft.  There 
was  one  boy  in  college  who  \vas  a  past  master  in  shrewdness 
and  daring.  He  was  watching  for  an  opportunity,  which  he  met 
with  on  Sunday  morning  when  Professor  Battle  and  all  his  fam- 
ily were  absent  at  church.  He  went  to  the  professor's  house, 
bribed  the  housegirl  to  give  him  the  keys  to  the  professor's 
drawers,  and  searched  for  a  painfully  long  time,  he  said,  when 
finally  he  came  to  the  Greek  examination  papers  carefully  hid 
away  under  some  old  rubbish  in  the  bottom  of  a  drawer.  He 
took  out  a  few  copies  of  the  papers  for  each  class,  put  every- 
thing back  in  order,  locked  the  drawers,  and  delivered  the  keys 
to  the  servant.  The  Greek  classes  were  now  in  high  glee. 
Some  of  the  best  students  who  knew  that  they  could  pass  cred- 
itably and  had  some  respect  for  their  word  of  honor  refused 
to  look  at  the  papers.  The  boys  overdid  the  thing.  Instead 
of  making  just  enough  to  pass,  they  got  excellent  grades,  the 
best  students  in  the  classes  having  the  most  defective  papers. 
Professor  Battle  was  astonished  and  worried.  He  laid  the 
case  before  the  faculty,  who  declared  that  the  boys  had  stolen 
his  papers.  He  insisted  that  this  was  impossible.  The  faculty 
decided  to  give  each  student  his  average  sessional  standing, 
which  "flunked"  a  number  of  them. 

I  think  it  was  about  four  years  before  the  faculty  knew  how 
these  papers  were  procured.  The  student  who  did  the  stealing 
had  gone  into  the  army.  After  the  war  he  went  to  Texas, 


REMINISCENCES.  103 

where  he  became  a  judge  of  some  note.  His  act  was  more 
applauded  for  its  daring  than  condemned  as  a  theft.  It  is  re- 
corded of  Lord  Nelson  that  he  climbed  a  wall  and  stole  some 
fruit  just  because  his  schoolmates  declared  that  he  would  not 
dare  to  do  it.  Such  deeds  sometimes  indicate  great  capacity 
and  great  bravery.  The  thing  for  parents  and  teachers  to  do 
is  to  get  the  boys  to  appreciate  higher  standards  of  morality 
than  generally  exist  in  the  code  of  "the  gang." 

At  commencement  our  records  were  read  in  public  and  pub- 
lished in  the  leading  papers  of  the  State.  Mine  was :  ''Distin- 
guished in  all  studies,  with  no  demerits."  Frank  Farley  had 
the  highest  average  among  the  students,  97+,  and  I  had  the 
second,  an  average  of  96+.  Thus  ended  my  first  year's 
work.  Up  to  commencement  I  had  formed  no  acquaintances 
in  town  except  a  few  in  the  Sunday  school,  who  will  be  men- 
tioned in  the  proper  place.  After  this  I  had  plenty  of  invi- 
tations to  visit  the  best  families  in  the  town  of  Tuscaloosa, 
which  has  always  been  noted  for  its  aristocracy  of  culture  and 
its  encouragement  of  ambitious  students. 

In  this  connection  the  general  history  of  the  year  is  appro- 
priate. On  the  first  Sunday  after  my  arrival  in  Tuscaloosa  I 
handed  my  Church  letter  to  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Cottrell,  pastor 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  joined  the  Sunday  school,  which 
was  under  the  superintendency  of  Mr.  Philip  A.  Fitts.  I  was 
assigned  to  the  class  of  Mr.  A.  C.  Hargrove.  I  have  kept  up 
this  habit  of  promptly  identifying  myself  with  the  Church 
whenever  I  have  moved  to  a  new  place — a  thing  I  would  advise 
all,  especially  young  people,  to  do.  This  course  will  help  to 
protect  them  against  lapses  in  conduct,  affiliate  them  with  the 
best  people  in  the  community,  and  bring  inspiration  from  the 
purest  sources.  As  the  Church  people  were  the  first  I  became 
acquainted  with,  I  shall  mention  a  few  of  them. 

Mr.  Cottrell  was  a  brilliant  man,  a  good  preacher,  witty  and 
versatile,  but  inclined  to  be  erratic.  He  was  a  decided  success 
as  a  stump  speaker.  In  this  role  he  was  inimitable.  I  heard 
him  make  a  speech  on  secession  which  was  witty,  sarcastic, 
and  thrilling  in  its  effects.  Several  other  speeches  were  made 


104  REMINISCENCES. 

on  the  same  occasion,  but  they  were  all  tame  compared  with 
his.  In  his  later  years  this  talent  led  him  to  the  lecture  plat- 
form. Mr.  Cottrell  made  me  feel  at  home  in  the  parsonage. 
I  am  indebted  to  him  for  social  courtesies. 

Mr.  Fitts  was  an  alumnus  of  the  University.  Before  I  knew 
him  he  had  been  a~  teacher  in  Centenary  Institute,  associated 
with  Professor  John  S.  Moore,  who  told  me  the  following  in- 
cident: Mr.  Fitts  was  invited  to  make  a  speech  before  one  of 
the  literary  societies,  and  the  time  for  his  address  was  set  for  a 
certain  day.  An  earlier  hour  was  left  open  in  the  commence- 
ment program  by  the  failure  of  some  other  speaker  to  appear. 
So  it  was  proposed  to  put  Mr.  Fitts  up  to  speak  on  short  notice 
and  without  much  time  for  arranging  his  toilet  or  his  thoughts. 
He  was  complaining  to  Mr.  Moore  about  being  moved  around 
to  suit  the  convenience  of  the  program.  Mr.  Moore  remarked  : 
"Phil,  I  wouldn't  do  it.  I  would  stand  up  for  my  rights."  Mr. 
Fitts  answered:  "Yes,  you  can  stand  up  for  your  rights  and 
stand  up  for  your  rights  until  you  have  nothing  but  rights  to 
stand  up  to." 

This  calls  to  mind  an  instance  related  in  the  life  of  Alice 
Freeman  Palmer  when  she  was  President  of  Wellesley  Col- 
lege. There  came  to  Wellesley  for  a  period  of  special  study 
a  woman  who  had  already  spent  several  years  in  teaching. 
She  was  nervous,  vain,  and  sensitive,  easily  finding  in  whatever 
was  said  or  done  a  covert  disparagement  of  herself.  As  she 
was  complaining  one  clay  of  some  rudeness  Miss  Freeman 
said:  "Why  not  be  superior  to  these  things  and  let  them  go 
unregarded?  You  will  soon  find  that  you  have  nothing  to 
regard."  The  woman  retorted :  "I  wonder  how  you  would 
like  to  be  insulted."  Miss  Freeman  drew  herself  up  with 

splendid  dignity  and  replied:  "Miss  M ,  there  is  no  one 

living  who  could  insult  me." 

It  was  to  Mr.  Fitts's  credit  that  he  went  on  and  made  his 
speech.  We  can  lose  the  best  there  is  in  store  for  us  by  con- 
tending too  strenuously  for  our  abstract  rights.  Christ's  plan 
of  self- forget  fulness  will  secure  the  richest  reward.  Mr.  Fitts 


REMINISCENCES.  105 

was  a  bright  man,  made  a  good  Sunday  school  superintendent, 
and  in  later  years  became  an  Episcopal  minister. 

Mr.  Hargrove  was  a  splendid  young  man  of  dignity  and 
force  of  character.  He  was  my  warm  personal  friend  as  long 
as  he  lived.  He  became  a  prominent  lawyer,  served  in  the 
Legislature,  became  President  of  the  Senate,  and  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  appointed  to  manage  the  forty-six  thousand 
acres  of  mineral  lands  which  came  from  the  United  States 
government  as  indemnification  for  the  destruction  of  the  Uni- 
versity buildings  by  the  Federal  army. 

The  end  of  Mr.  Hargrove  was  very  sad.  He  had  an  elegant 
home  and  was  well-to-do  in  all  material  and  social  conditions 
that  could  make  life  desirable.  During  the  war  he  received  a 
bullet,  lodged  somewhere  in  his  head,  from  which  it  could  never 
be  extracted.  This  gave  him  increased  pain  as  he  grew  older. 
It  was  thought  that  this  dethroned  his  reason  and  led  to  his 
death. 

RELIGIOUS  CLUB. 

There  were  no  organizations  among  the  students  for  reli- 
gious culture  in  1859.  A  few  students  felt  the  need  of  some- 
thing of  the  kind.  Early  in  the  session  Andrew  McGowen 
(Presbyterian),  Luke  White  Duggar  (Episcopalian),  John  C. 
Knox  and  Frank  Farley  (Baptists),  Solomon  Palmer  and  my- 
self (Methodists),  with  the  approval  of  the  faculty,  formed  a 
club  for  aiding  each  other  with  sympathy  and  advice,  for  social 
and  religious  culture,  and  for  holding  prayer  meetings  in  one 
of  the  recitation  rooms  every  Sunday  night.  I  think  Mc- 
Gowen was  the  leader  in  this  movement.  These  meetings 
were  kept  up  regularly  as  long  as  we  were  students  in  the 
University.  All  students  were  invited  to  our  meetings.  Some- 
times we  had  a  roomful ;  sometimes  we  had  few.  While  these 
meetings  did  not  seem  to  make  a  deep  impression  upon  the 
college  body,  I  feel  sure  that  they  were  helpful  to  those  who 
engaged  actively  in  them.  By  our  action  we  were  able  to  show 
our  colors  as  Christian  men  among  a  body  of  students  not 
noted  for  piety.  I  believe  that  we  were  thus  shielded  from 
temptations  that  might  otherwise  have  come  to  us. 


io6  REMINISCENCES. 

It  is  rather  a  sad  task  to  record  the  passing-  of  these  splendid 
fellows.  Frank  Farley  died  about  the  middle  of  our  second 
year  from  an  acute  attack  of  rheumatism  and  overtaxing  a 
constitution  not  naturally  strong.  McGowen  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Missionary  Ridge.  Knox  was  engaged  in  teaching 
after  the  close  of  the  war.  While  playing  baseball  with  his 
students  he  fell  and  was  suddenly  killed  by  striking  his  head 
against  a  stump.  Palmer  lived  a  long  and  useful  life  as  an 
educator,  serving  four  years  as  State  Superintendent  of  Edu- 
cation. He  died  of  heart  disease  while  President  of  the  East 
Lake  Athenaeum.  Duggar  died  a  few  years  ago  at  his  home, 
in  Perry  County.  Peace  be  with  them  all !  No  praise  from 
me  can  add  to  their  good  names.  My  heart  grows  warm  with 
affectionate  remembrance  when  I  think  of  their  upright  con- 
duct and  the  fine  temper  of  their  spirits,  which  can  nevermore 
be  ruffled  by  the  storms  of  earth. 

"Asleep  in  Jesus !  blessed  sleep, 
From  which  none  ever  wakes  to  weep! 
A  calm  and  undisturbed  repose, 
Unbroken  by  the  last  of  foes." 

MRS.  SARAH  BANKS  SIMS. 

In  the  latter  part  of  April  Mrs.  Sarah  Banks  Sims,  an  elder- 
ly lady  of  means,  who  lived  out  about  two  miles  from  town 
and  about  the  same  distance  from  the  University,  desired  to 
make  a  visit  of  several  weeks  to  relatives  in  Georgia.  She 
wanted  some  reliable  person  to  stay  at  her  home  at  night  to 
take  care  of  the  premises.  Mr.  F.  F.  Hemphill,  her  son-in-law, 
with  whom  I  had  become  acquainted  through  the  Church  and 
Sunday  school,  suggested  my  name  to  Mrs.  Sims.  When  I 
called  at  her  request,  she  offered  my  board  for  the  services  of 
taking  care  of  her  house  while  she  was  absent.  I  accepted  the 
offer,  as  this  arrangement  would  save  something  on  my  ex- 
penses and  at  the  same  time  serve  this  most  estimable  lady. 
There  would  be  no  one  else  on  the  place  but  the  negro  servants, 
but  I  was  well  acquainted  with  negroes  and  knew  how  to  get 
along  with  them.  This  gave  me  a  two-mile  wralk  morning  and 


REMINISCENCES.  107 

evening,  which  I  found  to  be  a  healthful  exercise.  When  Mrs. 
Sims  returned,  she  insisted  on  my  staying  with  her  the  remain- 
der of  the  session,  which  closed  sometime  in  July.  She  also 
offered  my  board  for  my  company  the  next  year.  This  tender 
I  would  have  accepted  but  for  the  introduction  of  the  military 
system,  which  required  the  students  to  board  in  the  barracks. 
I  shall  always  remember  Mrs.  Sims  for  her  great  kindness  and 
for  her  gracious  spirit  manifested  in  everything  she  did.  In 
thus  serving  her  I  saved  about  three  months'  board.  So  I  had 
to  borrow  only  a  hundred  dollars  from  Colonel  Yates.  When 
I  wrote  to  him  for  the  money,  he  promptly  sent  me  in  a  letter 
one-half  of  a  hundred-dollar  bill.  After  he  got  my  letter  ac- 
knowledging receipt  of  the  first  half,  he  promptly  sent  me  the 
other  half.  When  I  pasted  the  parts  together,  I  had  a  hundred 
dollars  in  money  at  par  with  gold.  This  enabled  me  to  renew 
my  wardrobe  and  to  pay  my  expenses  back  to  Choctaw  County. 
Mr.  Charles  Walker's  carriage  was  returning  to  Faunsdale 
from  commencement.  I  was  invited  to  a  seat  in  it  with  Miss 
Maggie  Walker  as  far  as  her  home,  where  I  spent  about  a 
week  with  my  old  schoolmates,  Mims  and  Mac  Walker. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PROFESSORS  OF  1859-60. 
Dr.  Landon  C.  Garland — Professor  John  W.  Pratt 

DURING  the  scholastic  year  1859-60  the  faculty  was  com- 
posed of  the  following  gentlemen :  ( i )  Landon  Cabell 
Garland,  A.M.,  LJLD.,  President  and  Professor  of  Mental  and 
Moral  Philosophy;  (2)  John  W.  Pratt,  A.M.,  Professor  of 
English  Language  and  Literature;  (3)  George  William  Be- 
nagh,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Applied  Mathematics  (Mechanics, 
Optics,  Acoustics,  and  Astronomy)  ;  (4)  Archibald  J.  Battle, 
A.M.,  Professor  of  Greek  Language  and  Literature;  (5)  Wil- 
liam S.  Wyman,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Latin  Language  and  Lit- 
erature; (6)  John  W.  Mallet,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Geology;  (7)  Andre  DeLoffre,  Professor  of 
French  and  Spanish  Languages;  (8)  William  J.  Vaughn, 
A.M.,  Professor  of  Pure  Mathematics.  I  have  given  the  titles 
they  bore  at  this  time. 

During  my  first  year  I  was  in  the  classes  of  only  four  of 
these  professors,  but  during  my  second  and  third  years  I  was 
in  the  classes  of  the  others.  As  I  am  under  lasting  obligation 
to  each  of  them,  I  may  as  well  acknowledge  this  here. 

DR.  LAXDON  C.  GARLAND. 

In  my  address  as  President  of  the  Alabama  Educational 
Association  in  1895  ^n  speaking  of  Dr.  Garland  I  said  that  I 
regarded  him  as  the  "prince  of  Southern  educators."  Twenty 
years  of  experience  and  observation  since  his  death,  in  1895, 
have  rather  increased  than  diminished  my  estimate. 

He  came  of  a  family  noted  for  talent,  probity,  and  a  high 
sense  of  honor.  He  was  born  in  Nelson  County,  Virginia, 
March  21,  1810,  was  graduated  from  Hampden-Sidney  Col- 
lege in  1829,  and  was  immediately  elected  lecturer  and  soon 
afterwards  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Washington  College 
(now  Washington  and  Lee  University).  In  1834  he  was  made 
(108) 


REMINISCENCES.  109 

a  professor  in  Randolph-Macon  College  and  accepted  the  place 
at  a  lower  salary  than  he  was  receiving,  because  of  his  devotion 
to  his  own  Church,  or,  as  he  expressed  it,  his  Church  pride. 
The  new  Randolph-Macon  College  was  just  starting,  and  it 
was  said  by  those  who  were  not  friendly  to  Methodism  that 
the  trustees  could  not  find  men  competent  to  fill  the  faculty 
without  going  outside  of  the  Methodist  Church.  Professor 
Garland  never  could  permit  any  cause  to  which  he  gave  his 
adherence  to  suffer  loss  for  lack  of  his  support.  In  1836  he 
was  made  President  on  the  retirement  of  Stephen  Olin.  After 
serving  in  this  capacity  for  ten  years,  he  resigned  to  study  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  But  Dr.  Basil  Manly,  President 
of  the  University  of  Alabama,  who  was  on  the  alert  for  the 
best  men  for  his  institution,  had  him  elected  to  the  chair  of 
Physics  and  Astronomy.  He  entered  this  new  field  in  the  fall 
of  1847.  On  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Manly  from  the  presidency 
in  1855,  Dr.  Garland  was  made  President  and  continued  in  this 
position  till  the  University  buildings  were  destroyed  by  the 
Federal  army  in  1865.  In  1867  he  was  elected  to  a  professor- 
ship in  the  University  of  Mississippi,  which  he  filled  till  he  was 
elected  Chancellor  of  Central  University  (Vanderbilt),  in 
1875.  In  this  office  he  served  till  his  resignation  was  reluctant- 
ly accepted  in  1893,  when  he  was  continued  as  Emeritus  Pro- 
fessor of  Physics  and  Astronomy  on  full  salary  till  his  death, 
on  February  12,  1895.  It  is  a  matter  of  some  personal  pride 
that  his  assistant  in  this  chair  was  Dr.  John  Daniel,  one  of  my 
former  students. 

Dr.  Garland  filled  more  chairs  than  any  other  man  I  ever 
knew.  The  ability  to  discharge  the  duties  involved  in  any  or 
all  of  them  did  not  measure  the  greatness  of  his  character.  I 
trust  that  I  may  be  pardoned  in  going  somewhat  into  detail  in 
regard  to  my  recollections  of  him,  as  I  was  more  intimately 
associated  with  him  than  any  other  student  of  my  day.  I  be- 
came his  private  secretary  in  the  fall  of  1860  and  continued  in 
this  position  for  a  year  and  a  half.  At  that  time  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  a  fully  developed  system  of  shorthand  and  type- 
writing in  use.  The  Doctor  had  been  doing  with  his  own  hand 


1 10  REMINISCENCES. 

nearly  all  of  his  writing,  embracing  a  large  correspondence, 
numerous  military  orders  arising  out  of  the  recent  introduc- 
tion of  the  military  system,  and  records  of  various  business 
transactions  connected  with  the  University.  While  he  wrote 
rapidly  and  in  a  very  neat  running  hand  with  scarcely  ever  a 
mistake,  all  this  clerical  work  was  too  much  for  any  one  man, 
even  if  he  had  had  no  other  duties.  But  he  filled  the  chair  of 
Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  Pres- 
ident of  the  University.  Few  men  could  have  carried  the  bur- 
den as  long  as  he  did. 

A  short  time  after  the  opening  of  the  session  he  sent  for  me 
to  come  to  his  office.  He  said :  "As  you  are  borrowing  money 
to  defray  your  expenses  here,  I  think  I  can  arrange  for  you  to 
serve  me  and  save  some  money  for  yourself.  Of  course  your 
education  is  the  matter  of  prime  consideration.  I  would  not 
have  you  sacrifice  that.  If  you  can,  in  addition  to  your  studies 
and  military  duties,  give  me  two  hours  of  your  time  each  day, 
I  will  have  the  University  pay  all  of  your  expenses.  You  must 
be  the  judge  whether  you  can  take  upon  yourself  this  extra 
work."  I  was  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  to  pay  my  ex- 
penses without  accumulating  so  large  a  debt  at  the  end  of  my 
college  course.  I  was  also  very  glad  to  have  the  opportunity 
to  serve  him.  After  thinking  of  the  matter  a  clay  or  two,  I 
decided  to  accept  his  offer,  fully  convinced  that  I  would  be 
taxed  to  the  utmost  of  my  ability.  While  this  extra  tax  on 
my  strength  would  not  have  been  a  good  thing  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  my  school  life,  it  turned  out  well  for  me  at  this  time. 
I  had  to  do  my  work  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  I  had  to 
exercise  all  the  concentration  of  which  I  was  capable  and  bring 
all  of  my  mental  resources  into  requisition.  In  a  few  weeks 
I  was  greatly  encouraged  to  find  my  mind  responding  to  my 
efforts  and  that  I  was  succeeding  better  in  my  studies  than  I 
had  ever  dreamed  possible. 

The  Doctor's  office  was  in  one  of  the  front  rooms  of  the 
basement  of  the  President's  mansion.  Some  days  the  work 
was  not  enough  to  keep  me  busy  the  whole  two  hours.  At  oth- 
er times  I  had  to  give  more  than  the  required  time  to  keep  up 


REMINISCENCES.  1 1 1 

with  it.  During  these  office  hours  there  was  not  much  time 
for  conversation,  except  on  business.  But  this  association  with 
him  gave  me  an  insight  into  his  modes  of  life  and  traits  of  char- 
acter exhibited  under  all  the  various  conditions  that  can  come 
to  a  college  president  in  whom  nearly  the  whole  management 
centered.  The  administration  of  the  University  of  Alabama  at 
that  time  was  very  different  from  that  of  the  highly  systema- 
tized modern  universities. 

As  a  student,  as  his  private  secretary,  later  as  an  instruc- 
tor in  military  tactics,  and  finally  as  assistant  professor  in  the 
University,  I  saw  him  in  almost  every  possible  light.  I  saw 
him  under  circumstances  of  great  provocation  that  chafed  his 
spirit,  but  I  never  knew  him  to  be  thrown  off  his  dignity.  I 
saw  him  in  the  classroom  when  a  good  recitation  would  light 
up  his  features  with  a  peculiar  smile  of  approbation.  I  also 
saw  how  poor  recitations  and  shabby  work  wounded  him,  but 
never  drew  from  him  an  unkind  or  sarcastic  rebuke.  His  look 
of  disappointment  was  the  most  touching  reproof  to  a  lazy 
student.  I  saw  him  more  than  once  in  the  Rotunda  before  the 
whole  body  of  students  when  some  evil  spirit  seemed  to  possess 
them.  He  would  show  signs  of  sympathetic  concern  over 
their  errors  and  make  appeals  to  their  better  nature  which 
nearly  always  prevailed.  But  when  kindness  and  paternal 
solicitude  failed  to  accomplish  their  object,  he  could  rise  to  a 
regal  stature  of  manhood  that  shone  out  through  his  great 
personality  without  any  signs  of  vindictiveness. 

I  saw  him  preside  in  faculty  meetings,  anxious  only  to  get 
at  the  right.  I  saw  him  in  the  role  of  lecturer  before  the  stu- 
clents  on  Sunday  afternoons.  It  was  the  custom  under  the  old 
regime  to  hold  a  special  service  for  the  students  in  the  Rotunda 
at  three  o'clock  on  Sunday,  conducted  by  the  Baptists,  Presby- 
terians, Episcopalians,  and  Methodists  in  rotation.  Dr.  Gar- 
land, though  only  a  layman,  sometimes  occupied  the  Methodist 
hour.  On  one  of  these  occasions  he  spoke  on  the  martyrdom 
of  Stephen.  He  made  the  picture  of  Stephen's  face  so  vivid 
as  he  "looked  up  into  heaven  and  saw  Jesus  standing  on  the 
right  hand  of  God"  that  the  memory  of  that  Sunday  afternoon 


ii2  REMINISCENCES. 

service  is  still  as  clear  to  my  mind  as  anything  I  ever  experi- 
enced. 

I  also  heard  him  on  the  public  platform  under  different  con- 
ditions. He  was  not  an  expert  reader  of  manuscript.  I  saw 
him  on  one  occasion  attempt  to  read  a  lecture  at  night.  He 
could  not  see  very  well,  and  in  trying  to  find  the  place  he  lost 
the  thread  of  his  argument  and  abandoned  the  manuscript. 
He  never  recovered  his  free  and  easy  style  on  that  occasion. 
I  heard  him  say  that  he  could  not  memorize  anything  verbatim. 
Mrs.  Garland  told  me  that  she  sometimes  attempted  to  hear 
him  rehearse  addresses  he  was  preparing  for  public  delivery, 
but  that  she  never  could  keep  up  with  him.  He  would  not 
follow  the  exact  phraseology  of  the  manuscript,  but  would 
express  the  thought  in  different  language  every  time  he  went 
over  it.  When  he  had  a  subject  well  in  mind,  I  never  heard  a 
man  who  could  state  it  so  clearly  and  forcibly.  His  thoughts 
came  forth  in  logical  order,  through  a  slight  impediment,  in 
sentences  of  chaste  and  elegant  English  that  glittered  like  crys- 
tals in  the  sunlight. 

The  Doctor  was  a  universal  scholar  for  his  day.  He  had  at 
different  times  filled  the  chairs  of  Chemistry,  Mathematics, 
Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy,  Greek  and  Latin,  English, 
French,  and  Mental  and  Moral  Science.  His  keen  analytical 
mind  had  mastered  all  these  subjects  so  far  as  they  were  de- 
veloped in  his  day.  His  ideas  were  clear  on  any  subject  that 
he  had  ever  studied.  His  fine  intellectual  powers  were  pervad- 
ed and  enlivened  by  a  vivid  imagination  that  caused  all  of  his 
mental  productions  to  take  on  a  beautiful  form.  He  was  an 
idealist  in  the  best  sense  of  the  term.  He  lived  in  a  spiritual 
atmosphere  that  seemed  to  envelop  his  whole  life.  I  think  the 
capacity  for  this  spiritual  insight  must  have  come  to  him  from 
his  mother,  whose  godly  life  he  held  in  sacred  remembrance. 
He  told  me  something  of  her  great  faith  and  of  her  wonder- 
ful dreams  that  came  true  and  so  impressed  him  that  he  felt 
sure  she  lived  in  close  communion  with  the  spirit  world.  He 
had  much  of  the  same  abiding  trust  in  God's  dealings  with 
himself.  In  this,  it  seems  to  me,  lay  much  of  his  greatness, 


REMINISCENCES.  113 

his  power  to  "look  at  things  not  seen"  by  the  mental  facul- 
ties alone  and  to  feel  their  reality  without  becoming  mysti- 
cal and  losing  his  hold  on  time  and  the  duties  of  the  present 
life. 

While  many  of  the  Garland  family  were  Episcopalians,  he 
remained  a  stanch  Methodist  after  the  example  of  his  mother, 
Mrs.  Lucinda  Rose  Garland.  He  did  not,  however,  indorse  all 
of  the  strict  discipline  of  some  of  the  early  preachers.  I  heard 
him  say  that  Rev.  Edward  Wadsworth,  who  was  the  pastor 
of  Randolph-Macon  during  his  presidency,  had  driven  one 
of  his  sisters  from  the  Methodist  Church  because  he  insisted 
on  her  taking  off  a  plain  gold  breastpin.  He  thought  such 
literal  construction  of  a  rule  illiberal  and  unwise.  Dr.  Wads- 
worth  many  years  afterwards  was  my  pastor  in  Mobile,  Ala- 
bama. I  am  sure  that  he  had  become  much  more  liberal  when 
I  knew  him.  His  dealings  with  his  Church  members  were  very 
mild  and  gentle  in  his  latter  years. 

Dr.  Garland  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  Bible.  He  was  in 
the  habit  of  reading  the  New  Testament  in  the  original  Greek. 
He  was  also  fond  of  Wesley's  "Sermons."  He  said  that  they 
"bristled  with  quotations  from  the  Bible."  He  was  a  regular 
attendant  at  church  and  a  most  attentive  listener.  He  said  that 
Stephen  Olin  was  the  most  original  and  powerful  preacher  he 
ever  heard  and  that  Bishop  George  F.  Pierce  was  the  most 
graceful  and  eloquent,  but  that  if  he  had  to  choose  a  minister 
to  preach  to  him  every  Sunday  he  did  not  know  one  whom  he 
would  rather  have  than  O.  R.  Blue,  of  the  Alabama  Confer- 
ence. 

As  a  slaveowner  Dr.  Garland  was  not  a  success  from  a 
financial  point  of  view.  He  had  some  family  servants,  and 
his  wife  had  some  who  had  come  to  them  by  inheritance. 
While  he  firmly  believed  that  slavery  was  sanctioned  by  the 
Bible,  he  condemned  in  the  strongest  terms  the  abuses  of  the 
institution,  especially  the  separation  of  husbands  and  wives 
and  of  parents  and  young  children.  Whenever  any  of  his 
slaves  intermarried  with  those  of  other  owners,  he  always 
bought  or  sold  to  prevent  separation.  As  his  slaves  rarely 


1 14  REMINISCENCES. 

ever  wished  to  be  sold,  he  was  nearly  always  the  buyer.  By 
these  purchases  and  by  natural  increase  his  slaves  had  grown 
to  something  over  fifty  when  he  came  to  Alabama  in  1847. 
They  were  always  a  burden  to  him.  I  believe  that  he  was 
partially  relieved  when  they  were  set  free.  I  say  partially,  for 
he  never  could  free  himself  from  the  care  of  them. 

The  Doctor  was  one  of  the  finest  talkers  I  ever  heard,  but 
it  could  hardly  be  said  that  he  was  a  good  conversationalist. 
Every  one  was  too  much  inclined  to  let  him  be  the  principal 
speaker,  like  Coleridge,  when  his  mind  got  started.  He  could 
enjoy  a  good  anecdote  as  much  as  any  man  I  ever  knew,  and 
he  could  tell  some  amusing  ones.  One  I  recall  ran  in  this 
wise :  Chief  Justice  Marshall  was  as  much  noted  for  the 
lack  of  thrift  and  good  management  in  his  home  affairs  as 
he  was  for  his  mental  acumen  and  great  legal  learning.  He 
drove  an  old  rickety  carriage  with  broken  shafts  tied  with 
hickory  withes  and  drawn  by  a  pair  of  lean,  uncurried  horses. 
One  of  his  neighbors  suggested  to  him  that  his  hostler  must 
not  be  feeding  the  horses.  He  called  the  groom  to  account  for 
his  negligence,  saying:  "Look  at  Colonel  Huntingdon's  horses. 
See  how  sleek  and  fat  they  are."  The  colored  groom  was 
equal  to  the  emergency,  answering  without  any  hesitation : 
"Well,  Massa,  but  yo'  mus'  remember  it  runs  in  de  blood. 
Colonel  Huntingdon  is  big  an'  fat.  Ole  Miss  Huntingdon  is 
big  an'  fat.  His  carriage  driver  is  big  an'  fat.  Now,  Massa, 
just  look  at  yo'.  Yo'  is  po'  an'  lean.  Ole  Miss  is  po'  an'  lean. 
I  is  po'  an'  lean.  I  tell  yo'  it  runs  in  de  blood.  Yo'  can't  make 
dem  horses  fat."  The  negro's  shrewd  and  ready  argument 
from  appearances  not  only  amused  the  Doctor,  but  the  anecdote 
threw  side  lights  on  the  Chief  Justice  and  old  Virginia  life  in 
those  early  days. 

The  Doctor  was  always  a  great  reader.  When  many  others 
were  rusticating  and  spending  their  time  in  idleness  and  mere 
physical  enjoyment,  he  relaxed  his  mind  by  reading  light  lit- 
erature. He  had  a  plain  country  home  on  the  mountain  at 
Blount  Springs.  When  he  would  pack  up  for  his  Blount  trip, 
Miss  Louise,  his  daughter,  told  me  that  he  always  took  Scott's 


REMINISCENCES.  115 

novels  and  other  light  literature,  of  which  he  was  so  fond  that 
he  read  them  many  times  for  recreation. 

He  was  an  excellent  mathematician.  I  heard  him  say  that 
his  first  love  was  for  mathematics.  After  he  took  up  science 
he  became  fond  of  that.  But  later  he  returned  to  his  first  love. 
While  teaching  mathematics  he  was  not  satisfied  with  the  text- 
books then  in  use.  So  he  wrote  a  text  on  trigonometry  and 
one  on  calculus,  the  manuscripts  of  which  were  destroyed  by 
fire,  if  I  mistake  not,  and  were  never  rewritten. 

No  doubt  there  are  more  accurate  scholars  in  all  the  fields 
of  learning  in  which  men  have  become  specialists — more  noted 
mathematicians,  more  advanced  astronomers,  more  practical 
chemists,  more  learned  linguists,  more  subtle  psychologists, 
more  profound  philosophers,  more  successful  business  men, 
more  able  administrators  in  college  government — but  there 
never  has  been  a  more  excellent  teacher.  Take  him  as  an  all- 
round  man,  of  fine  native  intelligence,  of  broad  general  schol- 
arship, of  clear  spiritual  insight,  of  transparent  candor,  of  easy 
manners  without  affectation,  of  zealous  public  spirit  without 
hope  of  public, remuneration,  and  as  a  man  of  tireless  devotion 
to  duty  with  no  end  in  view  but  the  answer  of  a  good  con- 
science and  the  approval  of  God,  he  was  a  rare  combination 
whose  like  we  shall  not  soon  look  upon  again. 

Of  the  many  good  fortunes  that  have  come  into  my  life,  I 
count  it  among  the  greatest  to  have  been  intimately  associated 
with  Dr.  Garland  and  his  estimable  family.  I  never  knew  a 
family  in  which  there  was  a  more  free  and  easy-going  life. 
Mrs.  Garland  was  serious  and  dignified,  but  kind  and  motherly. 
His  oldest  daughter,  Miss  Rose,  soon  after  I  entered  college 
married  Colonel  B.  B.  Lewis  and  moved  to  another  part  of  the 
State.  I,  however,  always  numbered  her  and  her  husband 
among  my  sincere  friends.  Colonel  Lewis  was  President  of 
the  University  when  he  died.  It  was  his  wish,  as  I  was  in- 
formed after  his  death,  that  I  should  be  his  successor  in  the 
presidency.  Miss  Louise,  who  married  Dr.  Milton  W.  Hum- 
phreys, of  the  University  of  Virginia,  was  one  of  my  most 
intimate  friends  among  the  ladies  of  Tuscaloosa.  She  was 


n6  REMINISCENCES. 

remarkably  brilliant  and  entertaining,  with  the  rare  faculty 
of  bringing  sunshine  into  any  circle.  I  never  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  her  after  the  old  "fraternity"  was  separated  in 
1865.  Miss  Jennie,  who  married  my  classmate,  Dr.  Eugene 
A.  Smith,  I  count  among  my  dear  friends,  whose  kindness  has 
been  rendered  sacred  by  the  flight  of  more  than  fifty  years. 
She  is  now  the  only  living  member  of  the  Garland  family. 

PROFESSOR  JOHN  W.  PRATT. 

Professor  Pratt  was  born  in  St.  Mary's,  Georgia,  May  21, 
1827,  and  died  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  March  24,  1888.  He 
was  graduated  from  the  University  of  Alabama  with  high 
honors  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  studied  for  the  ministry  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  May  6, 
1848,  six  days  before  his  majority.  He  became  Professor  of 
English  Literature  in  the  University  of  Alabama  in  1850, 
occupying  the  chair  held  by  his  father,  Horace  Southworth 
Pratt,  ten  years  before.  Here  he  remained  until  the  University 
buildings  were  destroyed.  He  held  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  from  Washington  and  Lee  University. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  opened  a  boys'  school  in 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  In  1868  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Lexington,  Virginia.  In  1874  he  accepted 
the  presidency  of  Central  University,  Kentucky.  In  1881  he 
became  pastor  of  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Louisville, 
Kentucky.  This  was  his  last  regular  work,  as  his  health  failed, 
and  he  resigned  his  pastorate  in  1883. 

Professor  Pratt  was  a  man  of  fine  talents  and  an  able 
preacher.  I  am  not  well  informed  as  to  his  success  in  other 
fields ;  but  I  am  well  acquainted  with  his  ability  as  a  teacher  of 
English,  as  I  derived  great  benefit  not  only  from  the  instruc- 
tion I  received  in  his  classes,  but  also  from  the  collateral  read- 
ing I  did  under  his  direction.  My  grades  in  his  classes  were 
generally  maximum.  But  in  one  examination  on  Whately's 
"Logic"  he  paid  me  a  two-edged  compliment.  I  had  studied 
the  subject  thoroughly  and  was  sure  that  I  could  answer  any 
question  on  the  matter  contained  in  the  book.  One  of  the  topics 


REMINISCENCES.  1 17 

for  examination  was  the  discussion  of  the  doctrine  of  proba- 
bilities, and  as  an  illustration  of  it  we  were  given  the  question, 
"What  is  the  probability  of  throwing  an  ace  in  three  throws 
of  a  dice,  expressed  in  fractional  terms  ?"  I  wrote  out  correctly 
the  answer  to  every  question  except  this  one.  Strange  as  it 
may  seem,  I  had  never  played  dice  and  did  not  know  the  mean- 
ing of  the  simple  question.  Provoked  by  it,  I  refused  to  ask 
him  what  he  meant  and  wrote  as  my  answer,  "I  do  not  under- 
stand the  question."  He  gave  me  one  hundred  on  each  of  the 
other  topics  and  zero  on  this  one,  which  made  the  grade  of  this 
examination  the  lowest  I  ever  made  in  the  University.  He  was 
surprised  at  my  failure.  When  I  told  him  afterwards  that  I 
did  not  know  the  meaning  of  the  question,  he  said:  "What? 
Never  played  dice?"  I  answered:  "No;  I  don't  know  what  a 
dice  is."  He  said :  "You  ought  to  have  asked  for  an  explana- 
tion." I  said :  "That  would  have  looked  too  much  like  solicit- 
ing aid  from  you  in  examination."  His  criticism  was :  "You 
ought  to  have  a  zero  for  being  too  proud  to  ask  for  informa- 
tion and  a  hundred  for  not  knowing  how  to  play  dice." 

Professor  Pratt  had  a  very  keen  insight  in  dealing  with 
human  motives.  In  dealing  with  boys  he  was  hard  to  fool. 
He  was  equal  to  any  emergency.  Along  with  his  keen  sense 
there  was  a  vein  of  humor  which  sometimes  came  out  in  the 
classroom.  In  the  exercise  of  this  I  saw  a  student  get  even 
with  him  on  one  occasion.  The  use  of  tobacco  was  general 
among  preachers  fifty  years  ago.  Professor  Pratt  never 
smoked  in  the  recitation  room,  but  he  sometimes  indulged  in 
a  chew  during  long  examinations.  This  necessitated  a  spit- 
toon near  his  desk.  One  day  a  student  was  indulging  in  the 
same  luxury;  and,  not  having  a  spittoon,  he  was  making  his 
deposits  on  the  floor.  The  Professor  in  a  very  polite  manner 
adverted  to  the  impropriety  of  the  student's  act  in  such  a  way 
as  to  create  a  ripple  of  laughter  through  the  room.  The  stu- 
dent took  the  rebuke  in  good  part,  but  went  on  chewing  his 
tobacco.  When  he  had  occasion  to  make  another  deposit  of 
ambeer,  he  deliberately  walked  up  to  the  Professor's  spittoon 
and  made  it  there.  The  class  roared  with  laughter  at  the  quiet 


1 18  REMINISCENCES. 

audacity  of  the  boy.  The  Professor  seemed  to  enjoy  it  as 
much  as  any  of  us. 

Professor  Pratt  had  a  charming  family.  Mrs.  Pratt,  a  beau- 
tiful woman,  was  Miss  Mary  Grace  Crabb,  and  on  her  mother's 
side  a  member  of  the  Inge  family,  of  West  Alabama.  I  had 
the  honor  of  spending  some  social  evenings  in  their  household. 
The  Professor  always  read  his  Bible  and  held  his  family  devo- 
tions when  the  hour  came,  including  his  guests. 

While  he  was  President  of  Central  University  he  visited 
Mobile,  where  I  heard  him  preach  an  eloquent  sermon  in  Gov- 
ernment Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  1875.  This  was  the 
occasion  of  our  last  meeting. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

PROFESSORS  OF   1859-60   (CONTINUED). 

Professor  George  William  Benagh,  A.M. — Professor  Archibald  J.  Battle, 
A.M. — Professor  William  S.  Wyman,  A.M. — Professor  John  William 
Mallet,  A.M.,  Ph.D. — Professor  Andre  DeLoffre — Professor  William  J. 
Vaughn,  A.M. 

PROFESSOR  GEORGE  WILLIAM  BENAGH. 

PROFESSOR  BENAGH  was  a  native  of  Lynchburg,  Vir- 
ginia. He  was  of  Scotch-Irish  descent.  He  was  born 
August  24,  1824.  He  was  graduated  from  Randolph-Macon 
College  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  L.  C.  Garland  in  1843 
with  first  honor,  though  the  youngest  member  of  his  class. 
He  studied  law  and  practiced  in  his  native  city  till  he  was 
chosen  in  1850  to  fill  the  chair  of  Mixed  Mathematics  in  the 
University  of  Alabama.  He  was  the  first  Secretary  of  the 
Alabama  Historical  Society,  which  was  organized  in  1850. 

Professor  Benagh  was  a  tall,  dignified,  handsome  man, 
whose  graceful  and  courtly  bearing  impressed  me  so  much, 
even  before  I  entered  his  classes,  that  I  resolved  to  make  him 
my  model  in  manners.  During  my  second  and  third  years  in 
college  I  was  in  his  classes,  part  of  this  time  by  myself.  I  have 
always  been  grateful  to  him  for  the  careful  attention  he  gave 
me.  I  am  sure  that  I  got  more  out  of  this  special  work,  in 
which  I  had  to  do  all  the  reciting,  than  I  would  have  gotten  in 
the  class  recitations.  He  made  me  feel  so  free  and  easy  that  it 
seemed  more  like  two  students  working  together  than  a  student 
reciting  to  a  professor.  The  problems  in  mechanics,  acoustics, 
optics,  and  astronomy  were  worked  out  step  by  step  in  a  man- 
ner to  make  these  usually  dry  subjects  a  very  entertaining  men- 
tal exercise.  These  recitations  seemed  to  give  him  as  much 
pleasure  as  they  did  me. 

He  had  a  clear,  logical  mind  that  could  hold  long,  complicat- 
ed problems  in  perfect  order  without  reference  to  the  textbook. 
He  would  hear  the  student  recite  through  to  the  end  without 

(H9) 


T20  REMINISCENCES. 

any  interruption.  Then  he  would  go  back  and  ask  questions, 
to  be  sure  that  the  student  understood  all  the  steps  in  the  solu- 
tion. This  was  a  pleasure  to  good  students  who  could  give  the 
reasons  in  every  step  in  the  process,  but  it  was  very  much 
dreaded  by  those  who  memorized  without  comprehending  the 
reasoning.  There  was  no  such  thing  as  passing  through  his 
recitations  with  imperfect  lessons  undetected.  I  have  heard 
students  says:  "If  'Old  George'  would  not  ask  any  questions,  I 
could  make  fine  recitations.  My  work  is  all  right  till  he  gets 
to  asking  questions  and  wanting  to  know  where  I  got  this  and 
where  I  got  that.  Then  I  feel  like  a  fool." 

His  recitation  room  was  in  the  Observatory,  outside  of  the 
campus,  toward  town.  In  this  little  room  I  spent  many  pleas- 
ant hours  with  him.  When  meal  time  came  he  would  say,  "Go 
to  dinner  with  me,"  his  house  being  just  across  the  street  from 
the  Observatory.  Here  I  was  almost  like  one  of  his  own  house- 
hold. He  was  fond  of  a  close,  companionable  conversation, 
and  we  had  many  a  pleasant  hour  together. 

When  I  told  him  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  go  into  the 
war,  he  manifested  great  interest  in  my  welfare.  When  I 
bade  him  good-by,  it  seemed  probable  that  I  was  going  into  the 
place  of  destruction,  while  he  would  be  comparatively  safe 
among  the  peaceful  shades  of  the  University.  But  when  I 
returned  to  Tuscaloosa  my  friend  was  in  his  grave,  while  I 
had  escaped  the  deadly  havoc  of  war.  While  bathing  in  the 
Warrior  River  near  the  falls  he  was  swept  down  by  the  current 
and  drowned  on  July  22,  1863.  This  sad  occurrence  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  wide  circle  of  his  friends. 

Mrs.  Benagh  was  Miss  Mary  Williams  Collier,  eldest  daugh- 
ter of  Governor  Henry  Watkins  Collier.  She  was  a  lady  of 
superior  intelligence  and  culture,  who  entered  into  full  sympa- 
thy with  all  his  friendships.  I  was  indebted  to  her  for  many 
kindnesses,  as  well  as  to  her  noble  husband.  When  I  bade  her 
good-by  in  1865,  sne  gave  me  his  gold  pen  as  a  memorial  of 
my  teacher  and  friend.  Mrs.  Benagh  died  August  27,  1899, 
and  rests  by  her  husband  in  Evergreen  Cemetery,  in  Tusca- 
loosa. 


REMINISCENCES.  121 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  teaching  Henry,  their  only  son,  when 
I  was  at  the  head  of  a  boys'  school  in  the  early  seventies.  I 
also  had  the  honor  of  graduating  their  granddaughter,  Miss 
Ethel  Phillips,  in  1891.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able 
to  render  any  service  to  the  children  of  these  worthy  people. 

PROFESSOR  ARCHIBALD  J.  BATTLE. 

Professor  Battle  was  in  the  chair  of  Greek  during  the  year 
1859-60.  For  some  reason,  I  know  not  what,  he  left  the  Uni- 
versity at  the  end  of  that  year.  I  have  been  informed  that  he 
once  taught  in  the  East  Alabama  Female  College,  in  Tuskegee. 
Later  he  was  President  of  Judson  Institute,  Marion,  Alabama, 
then  of  Mercer  College  (University),  Macon,  Georgia,  and 
still  later  of  Shorter  College,  Rome,  Georgia. 

Professor  Battle  was  an  elegant  gentleman,  tall  and  rather 
slender,  but  of  fine  presence  and  deep,  rich  voice.  He  was  a 
good  preacher  of  the  Baptist  denomination.  His  sermons 
were  clothed  in  easy,  polished  diction,  which  he  read  in  a  dis- 
tinct and  graceful  manner.  He  was  a  man  of  amiable  dispo- 
sition, free  from  any  disagreeable  peculiarities  and  prejudices. 
I  never  heard  him  accused  of  partiality  in  his  dealings  with  his 
students.  He  was  destitute  of  those  penetrating,  discriminat- 
ing qualities  of  mind  that  make  a  good  detective.  This  was 
shown  by  his  incapacity  to  believe  that  the  students  had  stolen 
his  examination  papers  in  June,  1860,  as  related  on  a  former 
page. 

I  had  no  association  with  him  except  in  the  classroom. 
Under  him  I  studied  the  "Iliad"  of  Homer,  "Crito"  of  Plato, 
"CEdipus  Tyrannus"  of  Sophocles,  a  course  in  Greek  compo- 
sition, and  a  course  of  lectures  on  Greek  and  Roman  mythol- 
ogy. I  do  not  class  him  among  my  strongest  teachers,  but  I 
do  recall  him  as  an  accomplished  Christian  gentleman  of  the 
old  Southern  school. 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  S.  WYMAN. 

Dr.  Wyman  was  born  in  Montgomery,  Alabama,  November 
23,  1830.  He  received  his  preparatory  education  in  private 


u_>  REMINISCENCES. 

schools  in  his  native  town.  Before  graduating  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Alabama  he  took  a  year's  course  of  study  at  Harvard 
College.  He  took  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  1851  and  of  A.M.  in 
1853.  The  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him  in  1882. 

He  \vas  elected  to  the  chair  of  Latin  in  the  University  of 
Alabama  in  1855,  which  he  filled  till  1905,  a  longer  period  than 
any  other  man  in  this  State  ever  held  the  same  position.  The 
following  statements  will  show  in  what  estimation  he  was  held 
by  those  who  knew  him  best.  Six  times  he  declined  the  presi- 
dency of  the  University  of  Alabama  (oftener  than  I  have  ever 
known  the  same  position  to  be  offered  to  the  same  man). 
Four  times  he  served  as  President  pro  tcm.  during  the  frequent 
interregnums  in  the  presidency.  He  consented  to  be  President 
in  1901-02,  but  found  that  the  duties  of  the  office  were  too 
onerous  for  a  man  past  threescore  and  ten  years  of  age.  He 
retired  from  all  active  college  work  in  1905  and  rounded  up  his 
life  in  doing  some  literary  work.  This  outline  of  facts  can  be 
predicted  of  no  other  man  of  whom  I  have  any  knowledge. 

A  man  of  so  much  sturdy  manliness  and  so  many  elements 
of  popularity  must  have  sprung  from  a  virile  and  intelligent 
stock.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  in  the  seventh  generation 
of  Francis  Wyman,  of  the  parish  of  West  Mill,  in  the  county 
of  Hertford,  England.  This  ancestor  came  to  America  in 
1637  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Woburn,  in  Massachu- 
setts. His  numerous  descendants  have  formed  a  Wyman  As- 
sociation, which  holds  a  meeting  in  June  every  year  and  which 
is  celebrated  with  a  banquet — a  fine  way  of  perpetuating  noble 
family  traits.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  member  of  this 
Wyman  Association. 

Dr.  Wyman  was  a  close  student  of  the  history  of  the  South- 
ern and  Gulf  States  in  the  original  sources.  He  was  a  facile 
and  entertaining  writer  and  a  very  interesting  man  in  conver- 
sation. He  was  the  author  of  "Syntax  of  the  Latin  Compound 
Sentence,"  of  "The  Trial  of  Milo,"  and  was  a  contributor  to 
the  Knickerbocker  Magazine,  the  Century  Magazine,  New 
York  Nation,  Magazine  of  American  History,  etc.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society. 


REMINISCENCES.  123 

He  was  one  of  the  most  thorough  teachers  in  the  University 
in  my  day.  The  students  used  to  think  that  his  whole  being 
was  cast  in  the  subjunctive  mood,  but  they  finally  learned  that 
this  was  far  from  the  truth.  While  he  was  uniformly  cour- 
teous and  considerate,  he  would  endure  no  indignity  nor  take 
the  slightest  insult.  He  could,  when  provoked,  quickly  get  out 
of  the  subjunctive  mood  of  parleying  into  the  indicative  mood 
of  action,  ready  for  any  emergency.  Hence  there  was  never 
any  other  than  respectful  deportment  in  his  classroom.  No 
student  who  ever  studied  under  him  will  fail  to  remember  that 
he  found  all  the  defects  in  examination  papers.  His  grades 
were  generally  lower  than  those  of  any  other  man  in  the  fac- 
ulty. 

Six  of  my  teachers  in  the  University — Battle,  Benagh,  Mal- 
let, Murfee,  Vaughn,  and  Wyman — found  their  wives  in  Tus- 
caloosa,  a  good  place  to  find  good  wives.  On  December  29, 
1853,  Mr-  \V.  S.  Wyman  was  married  to  Miss  Melissa  A. 
Dearing,  who  was  his  loyal  companion  through  more  than  sixty 
years.  "Whoso  findeth  a  wife,  findeth  a  good  thing." 

My  teachers  have  all  gone  beyond  the  reach  of  any  compli- 
mentary words  of  mine.  The  last  one  to  go  was  Dr.  Wyman, 
who  died  in  1915.  Peace  be  to  their  ashes  and  a  tribute  of  love 
to  their  memory! 

PROFESSOR  JOHN  WILLIAM  MALLET. 

Professor  Mallet  was  born  in  Dublin,  Ireland,  in  1832,  of 
English  parents.  He  graduated  from  the  University  of  Dub- 
lin in  1853,  obtained  his  doctorate  at  the  University  of  Goet- 
tingen,  and  was  made  Professor  of  Chemistry  at  the  University 
of  Alabama  in  1855.  Here  he  accomplished  the  first  important 
work  in  physical  chemistry  ever  performed  in  this  country :  the 
determination  of  the  atomic  weight  of  lithium,  the  lightest 
metallic  element  known.  This  work  firmly  established  his  rep- 
utation as  a  chemist  of  the  first  rank.  During  the  Civil  War 
the  Confederate  government  had  great  need  of  competent 
chemists  to  direct  the  manufacture  of  explosives.  Dr.  Mallet 
was  called  into  this  service  early  in  1861.  His  distinguished 


i ->4  REMINISCENCES. 

work  in  the  field  caused  the  government  to  promote  him  to  the 
rank  of  lieutenant  colonel. 

After  the  war  Dr.  Mallet  went  back  to  the  classroom  as 
Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Louisiana.  In  1868  he  went  to  the  University  of 
Virginia.  In  1880  he  was  chosen  by  the  National  Board  of 
Health  to  consider  and  report  upon  the  best  methods  to  be  used 
in  the  analysis  of  drinking  waters.  So  well  was  this  work  done 
that  it  introduced  him  to  a  new  field  of  usefulness.  Pie  became 
famous  as  an  expert  upon  sanitary  water  supply.  Not  only  was 
his  advice  eagerly  sought  far  and  wide  in  the  planning  of  such 
supplies,  but  he  was  frequently  called  upon  as  an  expert  witness 
in  legal  cases  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  Indeed,  his  reputation 
as  an  expert  witness  was  but  little  less  extensive  than  his  fame 
as  a  scientist. 

In  1882  Dr.  Mallet  went  to  the  University  of  Texas  as  Pro- 
fessor of  Chemistry  and  Chairman  of  the  Faculty  and  then  to 
Jefferson  Medical  College,  in  Philadelphia ;  but  he  returned  to 
the  University  of  Virginia  in  1885  as  the  head  of  the  school  of 
chemistry.  The  highest  honors,  academic  and  otherwise,  came 
to  him.  Among  these  was  membership  in  every  scientific  or- 
ganization in  America.  The  fact  that  he  was  always  a  British 
subject  and  had  no  need  to  deliberate  as  to  the  political  party 
with  which  he  would  ally  himself  did  not  prevent  science  and 
its  organizations  from  seeking  the  help  of  his  genius  in  this 
country  and  in  Europe. 

He  was  not  only  a  most  distinguished  scientist,  but  he  was 
a  brilliant  lecturer.  He  had  the  power  of  making  his  subject 
as  clear  as  language  and  experiment  could  make  it.  He  was 
also  a  master  in  the  art  of  refined  conversation.  When  he  made 
reply  to  any  remark,  he  always  made  it  appropriate  in  substance 
and  of  corresponding  length  to  the  one  addressed  to  him.  If 
he  was  addressed  in  a  short  sentence,  he  answered  in  a  short 
one;  if  in  a  long  one,  his  reply  was  of  similar  length  and  al- 
ways appropriate  in  substance  and  admirable  in  spirit. 

It  has  always  been  a  matter  of  regret  that  he  left  the  Univer- 
sity before  I  finished  my  course,  but  of  gratulation  that  I 


REMINISCENCES.  125 

sustained  for  a  year  and  a  half  the  relation  of  pupil  to  so-  ac- 
complished a  gentleman. 

Dr.  Mallet  died  at  Charlottesville,  Virginia,  on  November 
7,  1912,  of  pulmonary  embolism,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his 
age,  and  was  buried  in  the  University  Cemetery.  He  was  re- 
tired on  the  Carnegie  Foundation  in  1910  as  Professor  Emer- 
itus of  the  University  of  Virginia. 

PROFESSOR  ANDRE  DELOFFRE. 

This  sturdy  old  Presbyterian  Frenchman  held  the  chair  of 
Modern  Languages  in  the  University,  embracing  in  my  day  only 
French  and  Spanish.  He  was  not  so  brilliant  a  man  as  many 
of  his  countrymen.  He  lacked  something  of  the  native  French 
vivacity.  But  he  was  a  true  man  and  knew  well  the  subjects  he 
taught,  especially  the  French  language.  He  tried  very  hard  to 
impress  upon  his  students  the  importance  of  studying  French 
thoroughly.  He  would  say  in  a  very  monotonous  tone,  with- 
out any  accent  on  any  word  or  syllable:  "Young  Zhentlemen, 
the  study  of  French  will  'dev'el-op'  your  minds."  One  wag  of 
a  student  who  .found  it  difficult  to  learn  the  language  said : 
"That  is  just  what  it  does  for  my  mind." 

In  the  early  days  of  the  military  system  in  the  University  not 
only  infantry  tactics  received  much  attention,  but  also  artillery 
practice  and  sword  exercises  were  taught.  One  day  a  number 
of  the  professors  and  officers  were  assembled  in  a  hall  where 
there  wrere  some  swords  used  for  drill.  One  of  the  men  picked 
up  a  sword  and  made  a  banter  to  Professor  DeLoffre  to  try 
his  skill  in  fencing.  The  old  man's  eyes  sparkled ;  and,  as  quick 
as  a  thought,  he  snatched  up  a  sword  and  in  a  few  passes 
knocked  the  sword  from  his  antagonist's  hand  and  ran  him 
back  into  a  corner  of  the  room,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the 
crowd.  Before  this  no  one  knew  that  he  was  a  skilled  swords- 
man. He  had  been  a  French  soldier  in  the  Revolution  of  1848. 

After  the  suspension  of  the  University  he  taught  French  in 
Mobile.  The  last  time  I  ever  saw  him  I  entertained  him  and 
Madame  DeLoffre  one  evening  during  my  residence  in  Mobile 
in  1875.  His  whereabouts  passed  out  of  my  knowledge  years 


u6  REMINISCENCES. 

ago,  and  the  French  ami  Spanish  I  learned  from  him  have  well- 
nigh  passed  also ;  but  my  respect  for  his  memory  abides.  Au 
rcvoir,  Professor  DeLoffre! 

PROFESSOR  WILLIAM  J.  VAUGHN. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the  session  in  1859  Mr. 
William  J.  Vaughn,  who  occupied  the  room  just  over  mine, 
knocked  at  my  door  and  requested  me  to  call  at  his  room  when 
convenient.  I  supposed  that  he  wanted  to  see  me  in  regard  to 
my  studies,  as  he  was  my  teacher  in  mathematics.  At  a  con- 
venient hour  I  called,  somewhat  curious  to  know  why  he  wished 
to  see  me.  We  talked  pleasantly  for  a  while,  till  I  began  to 
grow  more  anxious  to  know  why  he  had  invited  me  to  his 
room.  He  finally  said  in  a  delicate  way :  "I  learn  from  Dr. 
Garland  that  you  are  borrowing  money  to  defray  your  ex- 
penses here.  I  did  the  same  thing  when  I  was  in  college,  and 
I  suffered  myself  to  feel  more  cramped  than  there  was  any  ne- 
cessity for.  I  don't  want  you  to  feel  so.  If  at  any  time  you 
get  out  of  money,  come  to  me  and  get  what  you  need.  I  can 
let  you  have  it  without  any  inconvenience."  This  was  a  sur- 
prise and  a  revelation  to  me,  to  have  a  comparative  stranger 
open  his  pocketbook  for  anything  I  might  need.  This  was  an 
offer  as  risky  as  it  was  generous.  I  might  be  honest  and  yet 
not  know  the  value  of  money;  or,  still  worse,  I  might  be  a 
respectable  fellow  in  appearance  and  yet  not  have  the  power  to 
exercise  self-denial  enough  ever  to  pay  a  debt.  He  did  not  stop 
to  consider  these  contingencies  nor  dry  up  the  springs  of  his 
generosity  by  figuring  on  the  chances  of  being  beaten  out  of 
his  money.  He  had  a  soul  that  knew  how  to  relieve  an  embar- 
rassing situation  which  he  had  himself  experienced.  While 
waiting  for  my  money  to  come  from  Choctaw  County  I  called 
on  him  once  and  borrowed  twenty  dollars,  which  I  returned  as 
soon  as  I  could  conveniently.  The  money  which  he  loaned  to 
others  was  not  always  returned.  He  died  poorer  in  property 
on  account  of  his  generous  sympathy  for  his  fellow  men,  but 
richer  in  love  and  honor  on  account  of  his  faith  in  humanity. 

The  first  time  I  saw  him  I  admired  his  dark  hair,  covering  a 


REMINISCENCES.  127 

large  head  of  fine  form,  associated  with  handsome  features  that 
gleamed  in  a  hearty  laugh  when  anything  ludicrous  occurred. 
Though  rather  below  medium  stature,  he  was,  measured  by  any 
just  standard  of  manhood,  a  person  to  be  reckoned  with.  His 
manner  was  kind  and  considerate  toward  industrious  and  re- 
spectful students,  but  for  a  lazy  and  impudent  fellow  he  had  the 
keenest  blade  of  reprimand  that  I  have  ever  known  sheathed  in 
a  man's  tongue.  He  had  no  patience  with  fraud  and  duplicity. 
He  had  the  power  of  putting  his  contempt  for  these  obliquities 
in  terms  that  cduld  not  be  misunderstood  and  the  courage  to 
back  his  statements  to  the  last  limit.  I  saw  his  courage  tested 
on  several  occasions  later  in  life.  I  also  witnessed  that  he  was 
as  ready  to  make  apology  for  an  injustice  as  to  resent  an  insult. 

As  I  learned  on  mature  acquaintance,  he  was  my  senior  by 
ten  months,  he  having  been  born  in  February  and  I  in  Decem- 
ber, 1834.  We  were  both  from  South  Alabama,  from  counties 
not  far  apart.  We  obtained  our  early  education  under  similar 
circumstances,  were  graduated  from  the  same  institution,  lived 
in  the  same  dormitories  four  years,  took  our  meals  at  the  same 
table  one  year,  lived  in  the  same  town  from  1866  to  1871,  and 
followed  the  same  profession  through  life. 

He  was  made  tutor  of  mathematics  in  the  University  of  Ala- 
bama immediately  after  his  graduation  in  1857  and  full  profes- 
sor in  1860.  He  held  this  position  till  the  University  was  sus- 
pended, in  1865.  He  then  filled  in  a  most  efficient  manner  the 
following  positions:  President  of  Tuscaloosa  Female  College 
from  1865  to  1866;  President  of  Centenary  College  from  1866 
to  1871 ;  Professor  of  Physics  and  Astronomy  in  the  University 
of  Alabama  from  1871  to  1873;  President  of  the  Tennessee 
Female  College,  in  Franklin,  Tennessee,  from  1873  to  1878; 
and  again  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  University  of  Ala- 
bama from  1878  to  1882.  In  1882  he  was  made  Professor  of 
Mathematics  and  Astronomy  in  Vanderbilt  University  and  held 
this  position  till  he  died,  as  the  senior  member  of  the  faculty, 
December  17,  1912. 

Dr.  Vaughn  was,  I  believe,  the  most  intellectual  man  I  have 
ever  been  associated  with.  He  knew  mathematics,  as  it  were, 


i_'8  REMINISCENCES. 

by  intuition.  His  mind  was  not,  however,  as  is  often  the  case, 
limited  to  this  department  of  knowledge.  He  was  equally 
gifted  in  languages.  He  was  master  of  several  modern  lan- 
guages, with  a  reading  knowledge  of  many  others.  He  was 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  classic  languages  of  the  an- 
cients and  was  the  best-read  man  in  general  literature  I  have 
ever  known.  He  was  not  so  well  skilled  in  laboratory  work  as 
some  of  the  modern  specialists,  but  for  a  comprehensive  knowl- 
edge of  the  whole  field  of  science  his  superior  was  rarely  found. 
He  was  the  author  of  several  treatises  on  mathematical  sub- 
jects and  was  an  honored  member  of  the  American  Mathemat- 
ical Society,  the  American  Historical  Society,  and  the  Southern 
Historical  Society. 

Along  with  his  superb  intellectual  gifts  he  had  as  true  a 
heart  as  ever  beat  in  a  man's  breast.  Honest  to  the  core,  with- 
out any  selfish  ends  to  compass,  free  from  suspicion  of  being 
overreached,  he  would  rather  be  wronged  than  wrong  any 
man.  His  friendships  were  not  colored  by  hope  of  reward. 
His  patriotism  did  not  look  for  public  office.  His  professional 
duties  were  not  fed  from  the  spring  of  popularity.  Lightly 
estimating  the  money  that  came  from  his  instruction,  he  was 
a  model  teacher  who  possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  the  power 
to  make  his  pupils  realize  that  they  were  \vorth  while.  With 
great  confidence  in  his  powers  of  achievement,  he  was  withal 
one  of  the  most  modest  of  men. 

About  fourteen  years  before  his  death  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  lose  his  right  leg  above  the  knee  and  had  to  go  on  crutches 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  one  of  our  last  interviews  the 
conversation  turned  on  our  early  trials  and  our  hard  experi- 
ences during  and  after  the  war.  Instead  of  bewailing  our  hard 
fate,  he  laughingly  said:  "Massey,  you  and  I  have  been  two 
lucky  fellows."  This  remark  was  characteristic  of  the  man. 
He  maintained  a  brave,  heroic  spirit  through  all  his  trials,  mis- 
fortunes, and  sufferings  as  long  as  he  had  the  conscious  com- 
mand of  his  faculties.  I  called  to  see  him  just  before  his  death. 
While  his  fine  powers  were  in  eclipse  by  physical  disease,  yet  in 
a  lucid  moment  he  recognized  me  and  grasped  my  hand  in  both 


REMINISCENCES.  129 

of  his,  showing  that  the  same  warm,  friendly  spirit  lived  in  his 
feebly  beating  heart.  He  said,  "Give  my  love  to  the  old  girl," 
as  he  affectionately  called  my  wife,  who  graduated  under  him 
in  1871  and  who  always  spoke  of  him  with  the  deepest  rever- 
ence and  gratitude  for  what  he  had  done  in  calling  forth  her 
intellectual  life.  I  did  not  tell  him  that  she  had  only  a  few  days 
before  passed  over  the  river  on  whose  margin  he  was  lingering. 

No  higher  tribute  can  be  paid  him  than  the  universal  esti- 
mate of  his  old  students,  whose  love  for  him  was  wonderful. 
Though  his  name  may  not  be  elaborately  chiseled  in  monumen- 
tal marble,  it  will  be  affectionately  cherished  by  thousands  of 
grateful  spirits  so  long  as  memory  endures.  I  doubt  if  any 
teacher  was  ever  held  in  higher  esteem  by  his  pupils  than  Wil- 
liam J.  Vaughn. 

When  it  was  known  among  the  members  of  the  "fraternity" 
(a  small  company  of  intimate  friends  at  the  University)  that 
Miss  Abbie  Scott  was  engaged  to  Professor  Vaughn,  Miss 
Lou  Garland,  a  member  of  the  fraternity,  remarked  that 
Miss  Scott  had  evinced  a  more  charming  personality  than  any 
other  lady  she  knew,  for  she  had  rescued  from  the  dangers  of 
old  bachelorism  a  literary  recluse  who  had  never  before  mani- 
fested any  tender  sentiments  toward  the  fair  sex.  Miss  Gar- 
land's praise  of  Miss  Scott  was  strictly  just.  Fifty  years  of  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  her  prompts  me  to  mention  this  high 
compliment  of  her  young  friend. 

Miss  Abbie  Maria  Scott  is  the  daughter  of  David  and 
Stella  (Houghton)  Scott,  who  were  residents  of  Tuscaloosa, 
Alabama.  Her  father  came  from  South  Carolina  and  was  one 
of  the  early  settlers  of  the  State.  Her  mother,  Stella  Hough- 
ton,  came  from  Vermont  and  was  a  sister  of  H.  O.  Houghton, 
who  established  the  publishing  house  of  Houghton,  Mifflin  & 
Company,  of  Boston. 

Miss  Abbie  Maria  Scott  and  Professor  William  J.  Vaughn 
were  married  August  17,  1865.  During  the  forty-seven  years 
of  her  married  life  Mrs.  Vaughn  was  "the  strength  of  her 
husband's  heart,  who  did  safely  trust  her."  Through  all  the 
experiences  of  suffering  and  sorrow,  as  well  as  of  joy  and 
9 


130  REMINISCENCES. 

gladness,  she  was  the  cheerful  light  that  shone  in  his  home. 
Around  it  she  still  sheds  a  beautiful  radiance  "like  the  evening 
star  shining  over  the  place  where  his  sun  went  down." 

Dr.  Vaughn  always  supported  the  Church  of  which  he  was  a 
member  and  attended  its  services  when  he  was  able.  But  he 
had  no  patience  with  mere  formalism  in  religion.  His  reli- 
gious trust  was  in  the  supreme  Source  of  all  good,  as  may  l>e 
seen  from  the  following  lines,  which  he  copied  from  an  English 
paper  sometime  before  his  death: 

DOMIXUS  ILLUMIXATIO  MEA. 
"In  the  hour  of  death,  after  this  life's  whim, 
When  the  heart  beats  low  and  the  eyes  grow  dim, 
And  pain  has  exhausted  every  limb, 
The  lover  of  the  Lord  shall  trust  in  him. 
When  the  will  has  forgotten  the  lifelong  aim, 
And  the  mind  can  only  disgrace  its  fame, 
And  a  man  is  uncertain  of  his  own  name, 
The  power  of  the  Lord  shall  fill  his  frame. 

When  the  last  sigh  is  heaved  and  the  last  tear  is  shed, 

And  the  coffin  is  waiting  beside  the  bed, 

And  the  widow  and  child  forsake  the  dead, 

The  angel  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  his  head. 

For  even  the  purest  delight  may  pall, 

The  power  must  fail,  and  the  pride  must  fall, 

And  the  love  of  the  dearest  friends  grow  small — 

But  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  all  in  all." 

These  professors  of  1859-60  were  only  eight  in  number; 
but  for  ability,  fidelity,  and  efficiency  they  were,  I  believe,  not 
often  equaled.  Each  man  taught  his  own  department  without 
any  assistance.  They  were  never  absent  from  their  recitations 
except  for  sickness,  which  very  rarely  occurred.  When  we 
went  to  recitations  we  fully  expected  to  find  the  professor  in 
his  seat,  the  one  man  we  had  to  deal  with  in  his  department. 
While  no  one  of  them  was  a  man  of  inferior  ability,  at  least 
six  of  them  were  men  of  superior  talents,  as  I  have  been  con- 
vinced by  my  association  with  men  through  the  experience  of 
a  long  life.  I  have  always  been  glad  to  have  known  them  so 
intimately.  The  University  at  that  time  had  only  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  students,  so  that  the  necessity  for  assistant 
professors  was  not  so  great  as  it  is  in  larger  institutions. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  MILITARY  SYSTEM. 

Colonel  Caleb  Huse — Colonel  James  Thomas  Murfee — Captain  C.  L. 
Lumsden — Captain  J.  H.  Morrison — Organization  of  the  Alabama  Corps 
of  Cadets — Appointed  Cadet  Quartermaster — Dr.  Basil  Manly  and  Wife 
— The  Secession  of  South  Carolina. 

AT  the  close  of  the  scholastic  year  of  1859-60  I  spent  the 
vacation  in  Choctaw  County.  On  my  return  to  the  Uni- 
versity the  first  of  September  I  found  that  the  military  system 
had  been  introduced  and  that  everything  was  being  adjusted  to 
the  new  order.  Three  new  military  men  had  been  added  to  the 
faculty:  Colonel  Caleb  Huse,  from  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  and  Major  James  T.  Murfee  and  Captain  C.  L. 
Lumsden,  from  the  Virginia  Military  Institute.  Colonel  Huse 
was  to  be  the  Commandant  and  Professor  of  Chemistry,  Major 
Murfee  was  to  be  Commander  of  Company  A  and  Professor 
of  Mathematics,  and  Captain  Lumsden  was  to  be  Commander 
of  Company  B  and  Assistant  Professor  of  Mathematics.  Aft- 
er the  opening,  the  number  of  students  became  so  large  that  it 
was  necessary  to  make  three  companies;  and  another  officer, 
Captain  J.  H.  Morrison,  from  the  Virginia  Military  Institute, 
was  added.  I  shall  anticipate  and  speak  of  these  officers  here. 

COLONEL  CALEB  HUSE. 

Colonel  S.  W.  John,  who  read  the  first  draft  of  my  reminis- 
cences, called  my  attention  to  some  errors  in  my  article  on 
Colonel  Huse.  I  have  since  consulted  the  Congressional  Li- 
brary, the  United  States  Military  Academy,  the  Association  of 
Graduates  of  the  Academy,  and  Colonel  Huse's  "Reminis- 
cences"; and  I  am  now  prepared  to  speak  more  accurately  in 
regard  to  his  career. 

Caleb  Huse  was  born  in  Newburyport,  Massachusetts,  Feb- 
ruary n,  1831.  He  was  appointed  cadet  in  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  in  1847  and  graduated  in  i8ci,  the  seventh 

" 


I32  REMINISCENCES. 

in  his  class  of  forty-two  members.  He  was  commissioned  bre- 
vet second  lieutenant  in  the  Third  Artillery  and  stationed  at 
Key  West,  Florida,  where  he  married  Miss  Harriet  Pinckney. 
The  following  year  he  was  ordered  back  to  West  Point  as  As- 
sistant Professor  of  Chemistry  and  remained  on  duty  there  till 
1859.  During  this  time  he  served  under  Colonel  Robert  E.  Lee 
and  became  one  of  the  most  ardent  admirers  of  that  great  man. 

In  1859  he  went  to  Europe  to  make  a  special  study  of  ord- 
nance. On  his  return  he  was  appointed  on  an  army  board  to 
test  the  merits  of  rifled  cannon.  As  first  lieutenant  he  was  on 
the  rolls  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Sumter.  He  found  also  an 
appointment  as  commandant  of  cadets  at  the  University  of 
Alabama.  To  enable  him  to  accept  this  position  without  finally 
severing  his  connection  with  the  army,  the  authorities  of  the 
University  had  obtained  from  the  Secretary  of  War  a  leave  of 
absence  for  him  till  May,  1861.  If  all  went  well,  he  was  to 
resign  at  that  time.  On  these  terms  he  accepted  the  place  and 
was  commissioned  colonel  by  the  governor  of  the  State. 

My  acquaintance  with  him  began  on  his  coming  to  the  Uni- 
versity. He  was  an  austere-looking  man.  He  did  not  have 
any  too  much  of  the  sauvitcr  in  modo  in  his  composition ;  but 
he  was  just  in  his  dealings  with  the  cadets  and,  as  will  appear 
from  his  record,  he  was  a  brave  and  true  man  who  stood  by  his 
convictions  regardless  of  the  consequences. 

Two  or  three  weeks  after  the  opening  of  the  encampment 
some  restive  students  who  chafed  under  any  kind  of  discipline 
made  an  effort  to  stir  up  prejudice  against  Colonel  Huse  be- 
cause, as  they  said,  he  was  a  "d d  Yankee."  They  added 

tinder  to  the  already  hot  blood  of  some  of  their  parents  whose 
feelings,  like  a  powder  mine,  needed  only  to  be  touched  off  to 
make  an  explosion.  It  was  just  a  few  weeks  before  the  Presi- 
dential election  of  1860,  when  the  whole  country  was  excited 
over  the  political  situation.  Dr.  Garland  told  Colonel  Huse 
that  there  was  a  mutiny  brewing  in  the  camp  whose  object  was 
to  run  him  out  of  the  State,  and  that  an  ugly  feature  of  the 
thing  was  the  fact  that  the  mutiny  was  encouraged  by  people 
on  the  outside.  The  Doctor,  fully  aware  how  unpleasant  this 


REMINISCENCES.  133 

trouble  might  become  to  Colonel  Huse,  felt  it  his  duty  to  state 
the  case  plainly  and  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  resigning  if 
he  chose  to  do  so.  He  told  the  Doctor  that  he  would  willingly 
resign  rather  than  be  a  cause  of  trouble  if  there  was  any  mem- 
ber of  the  faculty  or  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  that  wished  to 
be  rid  of  him.  When  he  was  assured  that  there  was  no  objec- 
tion to  him  among  the  authorities  of  the  University,  he  said : 
"I  will  not  resign.  As  some  of  the  students  and  their  parents 
have  threatened  to  run  me  out  of  the  State,  I  will  put  the  re- 
sponsibility on  them." 

Nothing  came  of  this  threatened  mutiny;  but  the  incident, 
which  was  liable  to  cause  trouble  under  the  circumstances, 
reveals  the  candor  of  Dr.  Garland  and  the  courage  of  Colo- 
nel Huse.  As  soon  as  the  corps  was  organized  and  the  admi- 
rable discipline  was  seen  to  be  in  striking  contrast  to  the  disor- 
derly conduct  of  former  years,  the  town  people  were  delighted 
with  the  good  order,  and  Colonel  Huse  became  popular. 

The  military  system  was  creating  considerable  increase  in 
the  University  budget  and  was  not  bringing  in  any  additional 
revenue.  What  was  to  be  done  was  a  question  that  would 
not  down  when  pay  day  came  around.  Dr.  Garland  was  can- 
vassing the  question  of  presenting  the  corps  to  the  legislature 
and  of  asking  for  an  annual  appropriation  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  the  military  system.  This  did  not  meet  the  approval 
of  some  of  the  faculty.  Some  of  the  patrons  also  objected  to 
such  an  unusual  move.  Fears  were  entertained  that  the  disci- 
pline of  the  corps  could  not  stand  the  strain  of  passing  through 
Mobile  and  of  going  through  the  entertainments  that  would  be 
proffered  in  Montgomery.  Drunkenness  and  demoralization 
were  dreaded.  Colonel  Huse  was  every  inch  a  man.  He  knew 
his  power  as  a  disciplinarian.  He  told  the  Doctor  that  he  would 
be  responsible  for  the  good  order  of  the  corps.  The  trip  to 
Montgomery  was  made  without  a  single  breach  of  discipline, 
to  the  great  delight  of  Colonel  Huse  and  everybody  concerned. 
The  expedition  will  be  described  on  a  future  page. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  was  confronted  with  a 
grave  and,  to  him,  a  very  momentous  question.  Had  he  con- 


134  REMINISCENCES. 

suited  his  personal  interests,  he  would  have  left  the  State  of 
his  adoption  and  received  high  command  from  his  native  State 
of  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the 
most  promising  young  officers  of  the  army.  But  Huse  was 
moved  only  by  the  highest  principles  in  everything  he  did.  He 
thought  that  the  South  was  right  in  its  contention,  and  he 
placed  his  sword  at  the  disposal  of  President  Davis. 

On  the  ist  of  April  he  received  a  telegram  from  Secretary 
Mallory,  of  the  Confederate  navy,  to  ''come  to  Montgomery 
and  take  a  commission  for  active  service."  On  arriving  in 
Montgomery  he  was  told  that  the  President  had  designated 
him  to  go  to  Europe  for  the  purchase  of  arms  and  military  sup- 
plies and  was  asked  when  he  could  go.  He  replied  that,  of 
course,  he  could  go  immediately;  but  that,  if  any  preparations 
were  to  be  made,  he  would  like  to  return  to  his  family  before 
starting.  The  Secretary  said:  "Be  back  in  ten  days."  He 
returned  to  Tuscaloosa  and  offered  his  resignation  as  com- 
mandant of  the  cadets.  On  the  morning  of  the  I2th  of  April 
he  rode  back  into  Montgomery  on  the  top  of  a  stagecoach. 
When  near  the  city  they  met  a  man  on  horseback  shouting : 
"Beauregard  has  fired  on  Fort  Sumter."  This  created  great 
excitement  in  Montgomery,  as  it  did  in  Tuscaloosa  and 
throughout  the  whole  country. 

On  his  way  to  Europe  he  arranged  to  go  through  Charles- 
ton, that  he  might  see  the  effect  of  the  artillery  fire  upon  Fort 
Sumter.  With  two  young  captains  whom  he  had  known  at 
West  Point,  he  visited  the  fort.  He  says :  "If  the  United  States 
government  deliberately  intended  to  force  a  war  and  thus  set- 
tle once  for  all  the  entire  question  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  no  strategy  could  have  been  more  effectual  than  that  of 
sacrificing  Sumter  exactly  as  it  was  sacrificed.  The  whole 
affair  could  not  have  been  arranged  with  greater  shrewdness 
and  finesse.  Anderson  and  his  officers  were  made  to  appear  as 
heroes.  The  North  was  completely  unified,  and  the  same  can 
be  said  of  the  South.  The  lines  were  now  distinctly  and  defi- 
nitely drawn,  and  every  man  from  Maine  to  Georgia  must  de- 
clare for  the  government  or  against  it." 


REMINISCENCES.  135 

He  passed  through  Baltimore  on  Sunday  morning,  April  21, 
the  day  the  men  of  the  Federal  command  who  had  been  killed 
in  the  affray  on  Friday,  the  iQth,  were  to  be  buried.  The  ten- 
sion of  feeling  was  almost  breathless.  On  reaching  New  York 
he  found  everybody  excited ;  and  the  Trenholm  Brothers,  from 
whose  bank  he  was  to  draw  money  for  his  passage,  were  so 
terrified  that  they  were  afraid  to  recognize  him.  He  finally, 
through  the  kind  offices  of  Captain  Wellsman,  drew  five  hun- 
dred dollars  in  gold  and  made  his  way  through  the  Northern 
States  to  Portland,  Canada,  whence  he  sailed  for  England. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  war  he  was  very  successful  in 
securing  and  shipping  into  the  Confederacy  large  quantities  of 
guns,  ammunition,  and  military  supplies.  On  one  occasion  he 
beat  the  United  States  agent  to  one  hundred  thousand  Austrian 
rifles  of  the  latest  pattern  and  sixty  pieces  of  field  artillery  and 
large  supplies  of  ammunition. 

He  proved  to  be  so  honest  and  capable  an  agent  for  the 
Confederate  government  that  they  sent  him  a  carte  blanche 
order  on  Fraser,  Trenholm  &  Company,  of  Liverpool,  who 
were  the  intelligent  and  trustworthy  agents  of  the  Richmond 
government  throughout  the  entire  war.  This  order  was  sewed 
between  the  soles  of  a  boot  which  was  worn  by  a  German  who 
sailed  from  New  York.  On  his  arrival  in  England  the  stitches 
were  cut  and  the  order  delivered  to  Colonel  Huse.  This  shows 
how  impossible  it  is  to  keep  information  from  passing  through 
any  lines  that  may  be  drawn. 

He  speaks  in  very  complimentary  terms  of  Hon.  William  L. 
Yancey,  Commissioner  to  England,  and  of  Commander  James 
D.  Bulloch,  who  had  charge  of  all  naval  affairs.  With  both 
these  gentlemen  he  had  close  business  relations.  Commander 
Bulloch  was  an  uncle  of  Ex-President  Roosevelt.  Colonel 
Huse  assisted  Commander  Bulloch  in  securing  vessels  for  ship- 
ping supplies  into  Confederate  ports.  But  there  is  no  mention 
in  his  "Reminiscences"  of  his  having  had  any  part  in  the  nego- 
tiations for  the  cruiser  Alabama. 

Although  he  handled  large  sums  of  money  for  the  Confed- 
eracy, he  used  none  of  it  for  himself  beyond  his  expenses. 


REMINISCENCES. 

\Yhen  the  war  closed,  he  found  himself  with  a  large  family  and 
without  money  or  employment.  I  le  informed  Dr.  E.  A.  Smith, 
who  met  him  in  Paris  in  1867,  that  he  was  sometimes  in  dire 
straits  and  did  not  know  what  he  would  have  done  if  some  gen- 
erous friends  in  England  had  not  lent  him  money.  Tie  could 
not  return  to  the  United  States,  because  the  Federal  authorities 
believed  he  had  in  his  possession  large  sums  of  money  belong- 
ing to  the  Confederacy,  and  he  would  on  this  account  be  liable 
to  arrest. 

When  amnesty  was  declared,  he  returned  to  the  United 
States  to  try  to  make  a  living.  He  had  no  profession  and  no 
training  that  fitted  him  for  any  other  business  than  that  of  a 
soldier.  Though  just  as  true  and  brave,  he  seems  not  to  have 
had  the  resiliency  and  adaptability  of  Generals  Fitzhugh  Lee 
and  Joe  Wheeler,  who  knew  how  to  get  back  into  the  service  of 
the  United  States  army.  Finally,  in  1876,  he  started  a  school 
near  West  Point  to  prepare  boys  for  the  Military  Academy. 
His  checkered  career  ended  in  death  on  March  n,  1905. 

There  is  something  in  his  honest  and  manly  character  that 
not  only  appeals  to  my  respect  and  admiration,  but  also  excites 
a  vein  of  pathos  and  regret.  He  evidently  was  a  disappointed 
man  who  went  to  his  grave  without  a  reward  adequate  to  his 
merits. 

COLONEL  JAMES  THOMAS  MURFEE. 

On  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Huse,  Major  Murfee  was 
made  commandant  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  He  was  a  man  of 
untiring  energy  and  very  systematic  in  all  his  work,  a  man  of 
details,  who  gave  due  attention  to  the  practical  side  of  life.  I 
was  in  his  class  one  term  and  was  impressed  with  the  constant 
trend  of  his  instruction  to  bring  every  principle  of  mathematics 
to  convenient  formulas  for  practical  use. 

Sometime  in  the  summer  or  fall  of  1862  he  was  elected 
lieutenant  colonel  of  the  Forty-First  Alabama  Regiment,  but 
soon  returned  to  the  University  because  his  services  were  so 
much  needed  there.  At  that  time  it  was  difficult  to  get  efficient 
military  men  to  remain  in  the  school  on  account  of  the  pressing 


REMINISCENCES.  137 

need  of  their  services  in  the  field  and  on  account  of  the  high 
tension  of  the  war  feeling.  I  am  sure  that  Colonel  Murfee 
would  have  been  a  success  if  he  had  remained  in  the  active 
service,  but  I  believe  his  talents  lay  in  the  educational  field 
rather  than  in  the  arena  of  war. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  employed  as  archi- 
tect to  reconstruct  the  University  buildings.  He  completed 
Wood's  Hall  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Quadrangle. 
But  the  whole  State  government,  including  the  institution, 
soon  went  into  the  hands  of  the  Reconstruction  party,  which 
did  nothing  worth  while  with  the  University  for  several 
years. 

In  1871  Colonel  Murfee  was  made  President  of  Howard 
College,  at  Marion,  Alabama,  where  he  rendered  excellent 
service  in  raising  the  standard  of  education  during  a  period  of 
sixteen  years.  When  the  college  was  moved  to  Birmingham, 
in  1887,  he  declined  to  leave  Marion  and  set  to  work  to  found 
the  Marion  Institute  on  the  old  college  foundation.  This  he 
left  to  his  sons,  who  are  proving  themselves  the  worthy  suc- 
cessors to  a  man  who  faithfully  served  his  generation  for  half 
a  century. 

On  account  of  age  and  deafness  he  retired  from  active  work 
in  1906  on  the  Carnegie  Foundation.  His  death  occurred  in 
Miami,  Florida,  in  April,  1912,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of 
his  age,  and  he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers.  He  was  an  hon- 
ored member  of  the  Baptist  Church,  a  Christian  without  secta- 
rian bias,  a  patriot  without  sectional  bitterness,  and  a  man  with 
positive  convictions  of  right  and  manly  courage  to  carry  them 
out.  More  of  his  sort  will  make  a  better  world. 

He  was  born  in  1833  in  Southampton  County,  Virginia.  In 
1853  ne  was  graduated  from  the  Virginia  Military  Institute 
without  a  single  demerit  and  with  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class.  After  graduation  he  taught  in  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  and 
in  Madison  College,  Pennsylvania,  till  he  came  to  Alabama,  in 
1860.  The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  Furman  University  in  1874  and  also  by  the  University  of 
Alabama  in  1907. 


138  REMINISCENCES. 

CAPTAIN*  C.  L.  LUMSDEN. 

Captain  C.  L.  Lumsden  was  one  of  the  most  graceful  drill- 
masters  I  ever  saw.  In  November,  1861,  he  organized  in 
Tuscaloosa  a  battery  known  as  Lumsden's  Battery.  It  sa\v 
extremely  hard  service  and  lost  heavily  in  the  battles  of  Cor- 
inth, Farmington,  Perryville,  Murfreesboro,  Chickamauga, 
Kennesaw  Mountain,  Atlanta,  and  Nashville.  As  the  official 
reports  show,  it  was  mentioned  many  times  for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct.  Its  history  will  stand  prominent  in  the 
records  of  the  war. 

After  the  surrender  Captain  Lumsden  engaged  in  the  saw- 
mill business  and,  having  passed  through  the  havoc  of  war, 
was  killed  by  an  accident  in  his  sawmill. 

Captain  Morrison  also  went  into  the  army,  but  I  lost  sight 
of  him. 

So  much  for  the  officers  who  entered  the  University  in  the 
fall  of  1860.  In  speaking  of  them,  as  of  the  other  professors 
to  whom  reference  has  been  made,  I  have  had  to  run  ahead  of 
the  current  of  events  in  the  history  of  the  institution. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ALABAMA  CORPS  OF  CADETS. 

Early  in  September,  1860,  about  two  hundred  of  us  assem- 
bled at  the  University  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  the  Ala- 
bama Corps  of  Cadets.  We  went  into  camp  on  the  southwest- 
ern quarter  of  the  campus  to  live  in  tents  for  six  weeks  and  be 
drilled  in  regular  army  style.  Dr.  Garland  had  secured  from 
some  party  in  Montgomery  a  colored  fifer,  whose  name  was 
Gabe,  and  a  colored  drummer,  whose  name  was  Neil.  These 
important  attaches  sounded  reveille  at  five-thirty  in  the  morn- 
ing1, when  we  had  to  rise  in  haste,  like  the  Hebrews  in  Egypt, 
and  be  ready  at  five  forty-five  for  our  slices  of  light  bread  and 
tin  cups  of  black  coffee  prepared  by  Arthur,  the  janitor.  This 
early  lunch  was  thought  to  be  a  preventive  against  chills,  which 
might  be  contracted  from  the  early  morning  air  and  the  heavy 
dew  on  the  high  grass.  As  soon  as  these  rations  could  be  dis- 
patched we  were  ready  for  an  hour's  drill  before  breakfast. 


REMINISCENCES.  139 

Everything  was  done  in  a  sharp,  quick,  snappy  style.  We 
were  all  privates  in  the  ranks — seniors,  juniors,  sophomores 
of  the  past  year,  as  well  as  the  new  recruits  who  were  entering 
the  University  for  the  first  time.  There  was  nothing  heard  all 
day  long  but  "Attention!"  "Eyes  right!"  "Eyes  left!"  "Head 
up!"  "Little  fingers  on  seam  of  pants!"  "Forward,  march!" 
"Double-quick!"  and  "Halt!"  till  it  became  dreadfully  monoto- 
nous. It  struck  some  of  the  old  students  as  a  most  incongru- 
ous thing  in  a  University  which  stood  for  the  humanities  and 
high  culture.  And,  what  we  did  not  quite  comprehend  at  first, 
Dr.  Garland  had  his  tent  in  the  camp  and  seemed  to  be  "de- 
lighted" with  our  performance. 

After  some  days  of  squad  drill,  we  began  to  be  grouped  into 
sections  and  companies  and,  by  the  end  of  six  weeks,  into  a 
battalion.  We  were  dressed  in  gray  uniforms  bestudded  with 
brass  buttons  and  black  military  hats  with  "A.  C.  C."  in  front, 
encircled  with  brazen  eagles  and  topped  with  gay  pompons,  and 
carried  bright  swords  and  Springfield  muskets  in  our  hands. 
Uniformity  of  movement  and  precision  of  evolution  had 
arisen  out  of  the  undisciplined  crowd  of  a  few  weeks  before. 

We  were  now  as  much  pleased  with  the  marvelous  transfor- 
mation as  we  had  been  disgusted  with  the  initiatory  steps  of 
the  squad  drill.  The  glamour  of  military  uniforms,  the  har- 
mony of  movement,  the  precision  of  evolution,  and  the  stirring 
strains  of  martial  music  which  Gabe  and  Neil  put  their  whole 
souls  into — all  these  made  our  blood  tingle  with  the  military 
spirit,  especially  when  the  campus  was  filled  with  crowds  of 
admiring  lady  spectators,  making  us  feel  the  force  of  one  of 
Dr.  Garland's  remarks :  "Venus  always  showed  a  penchant  for 
Mars."  The  novelty  of  the  military  feature  made  it  very  at- 
tractive during  the  first  few  months,  and  later  on  the  rising  war 
spirit  added  to  its  interest.  These  incentives,  acting  on  a  body 
of  high-strung  young  men,  generally  from  the  best  families  of 
the  State,  soon  made  the  Alabama  Corps  of  Cadets  one  of  the 
best-drilled  battalions  in  the  whole  country.  It  was  frequently 
said  by  good  judges  that  the  drilling  of  the  corps  was  equal  to 
that  .of  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  and  the  United  States 


140  REMINISCENCES. 

Military  Academy.  Of  this  I  cannot  speak  from  personal 
knowledge,  never  having  seen  the  evolutions  of  those  two 
noted  military  schools.  But  I  am  sure  that  our  drilling  was  as 
nearly  perfect  as  it  was  possible  to  make  it  out  of  the  very  best 
material,  handled  by  thoroughly  capable  officers,  all  incited  by 
motives  that  hardly  ever  occur  twice  in  a  century. 

About  the  middle  of  October  we  left  our  tents,  went  into 
barracks,  and  organized  the  academic  work  for  the  year.  I 
roomed  this  year  in  the  north  end  room  on  the  second  floor  of 
Franklin  Barracks.  My  roommates  were  Fuller  Manly,  Clar- 
ence H.  Ellerbe,  and  J.  C.  Riggs,  all  fine  fellows. 

APPOINTED  CADET  QUARTERMASTER. 

One  of  the  first  things  done  was  to  appoint  the  cadet  officers. 
Quartermaster  fell  to  my  lot,  with  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant. 
The  duties  of  this  office  were  considerable,  as  I  had  charge  of 
the  quartermaster's  store,  which  contained  everything  the  ca- 
dets needed  in  the  way  of  clothing  except  the  gray  uniforms. 
At  certain  regular  hours  the  store  was  opened,  when  the  cadets 
brought  their  cadet  books,  with  the  articles  they  needed  already 
charged  upon  the  books  by  Captain  Gibbs,  the  State  Quarter- 
master and  Treasurer.  My  business  was  to  give  out  the  goods 
just  as  they  were  charged  on  each  book.  I  soon  had  everything 
arranged  so  that,  with  the  assistance  of  the  quartermaster  ser- 
geant, it  was  an  easy  matter  to  attend  to  the  business. 

These  duties  brought  me  into  close  association  with  Captain 
Gibbs,  whom  the  boys  called  "Old  Growly."  Students  are 
always  quick  to  embody  in  a  ludicrous,  and  sometimes  even 
spiteful,  sobriquet  any  striking  peculiarities  of  their  teachers 
and  officers.  Captain  Gibbs  was  an  Englishman  and  had  a 
deep-toned  voice  which  frequently  expressed  his  impatience  at 
the  irrelevant  questions  and  unreasonable  demands  of  the  ca- 
dets. Hence  came  the  expressive  but  uncomplimentary  sobri- 
quet. But  I  wish  to  state  that  Captain  Gibbs  was  a  very  just 
and  kind-hearted  man,  even  if  he  did  not  always  manifest  a 
sweet  temper  through  soft  tones  of  voice. 

The  scheme  of  literary  studies  for  the  year  1 860-61  was 


REMINISCENCES.  141 

different  from  that  of  the  old  regime  in  which  there  were  no 
electives,  each  class  being  obliged  to  take  the  regular  course 
prescribed  for  graduation.  The  new  order  granted  some  elec- 
tion of  studies.  This  made  a  transition  period  in  the  University 
in  the  plan  of  studies  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  changes 
caused  by  the  introduction  of  the  military  system.  Under  the 
new  order  the  scheme  of  classes  was  difficult  to  arrange  and 
in  some  cases  made  it  hard  on  the  students  because  of  too  many 
heavy  recitations  coming  close  together.  On  Wednesdays  I 
had  five  of  my  heaviest  recitations  from  8  A.M.  to  I  P.M. — five 
hours  on  a  stretch.  I  had  to  prepare  for  all  these  on  the  two 
or  three  preceding  days  and  nights.  This  crowding  together 
of  so  many  recitations  grew  partly  out  of  the  fact  that  I  was 
carrying  an  extra  study.  After  I  got  used  to  this  arrange- 
ment, I  did  not  object  to  it.  It  taught  me  how  to  get  ready  for 
this  extra  draft  and  how  to  concentrate  all  my  resources  for 
the  occasion. 

I  found  also  that  the  regular  habits  of  sleep  and  exercise 
enforced  by  the  military  system  were  a  good  thing  for  me. 
Nothing  but  this  actual  experience  could  have  made  me  believe 
that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  good  in  the  military  system. 
Through  this  experience  I  learned  that  unexpected  good  comes 
to  us  by  the  patient  endurance  of  unavoidable  inconveniences 
and  hardships.  I  was  becoming  too  much  fossilized  in  my 
notions  and  habits.  I  am  glad  that  I  saw  this  transition  period 
in  the  University  from  the  old  regime  to  the  new.  The  transi- 
tion in  myself  was  as  great  as  that  in  the  institution.  It  has 
made  me  less  afraid  of  changes  than  I  would  otherwise  have 
been.  It  has  put  me  in  sympathy  with  the  changes  that  are 
constantly  going  on  in  nature  around  us  and  in  mind  and  spirit 
within  us.  Nothing  is  in  a  state  of  fixity.  Everything  is  in  a 
stage  of  growth.  Whatever  promotes  growth  is  a  good  thing, 
whether  it  is  to  our  liking  or  not.  Of  course  there  is  danger 
in  the  change  which  growth  produces  unless  directed  by  intel- 
ligence, but  there  is  more  danger  in  a  state  of  stagnation. 

The  military  regime  gave  us  no  time  for  stagnation.  Re- 
veille sounded  at  six  o'clock,  beginning  with  long  roll, 


142  REMINISCENCES. 

which  lasted  three  minutes.  During  these  three  minutes  we 
had  to  jump  into  our  clothes,  run  downstairs,  and  get  into  line 
ready  to  answer  to  our  names,  the  calling  of  which  began  the 
moment  the  drum  ceased.  We  then  had  a  half  hour  to  dress 
properly,  make  up  our  beds,  and  clean  up  our  rooms,  all  of 
which  we  had  to  do  ourselves,  and  so  clean  they  had  to  be  that 
nothing  in  the  rooms  would  soil  a  white  glove.  Quiet  reigned 
for  a  half  hour,  in  which  we  were  expected  to  study  in  our 
rooms  before  prayers  in  the  chapel,  then  we  went  to  breakfast 
in  the  mess  hall.  Recitations  and  study  from  8  to  i ;  one  hour 
for  dinner;  recitations  and  study  from  2  to  4;  drill  from  4  to 
5;  recreation  from  5  to  6;  supper  from  6  to  6:45;  recreation 
from  6 : 45  to  /  :  30 ;  study  from  7 : 30  to  9 : 30 ;  preparation  for 
retiring  from  9:  30  to  10;  taps  at  10,  lights  out,  and  all  quiet — 
so  ran  the  days. 

I  soon  found  my  work  going  more  smoothly  than  I  had  ever 
had  it  run  before.  I  was  agreeably  surprised  at  this  and  at- 
tributed it  largely  to  the  regular  habits  induced  by  the  military 
system.  But  the  good  results  were  offset  in  some  degree.  We 
did  not  do  so  much  reading  as  we  did  under  the  old  system  of 
1859-60,  and  the  interest  we  took  in  our  literary  societies  large- 
ly died  out  under  military  rule.  This  was,  no  doubt,  partly  due 
to  the  growing  interest  in  the  military  feature  inspired  by  the 
prospects  of  war. 

DR.  BASIL  MANLY  AND  WIFE. 

There  was  no  break  in  my  work  except  for  a  short  spell  of 
sickness  I  had  during  the  fall.  No  hospital  had  been  fitted  up 
yet  such  as  was  provided  later.  I  was  confined  to  my  room  in 
the  barracks.  One  of  my  roommates  was  young  Fuller  Manly, 
the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Basil  Manly,  who  was  at  that  time  in 
charge  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  Tuscaloosa.  When  Fuller 
went  home  on  Saturday  afternoon,  he  told  his  mother  that  I 
was  sick  in  my  room  at  the  University.  She  immediately  sent 
her  carriage  out  for  me,  though  a  stranger,  and  took  me  to  her 
home  and  treated  me  just  as  if  I  had  been  her  own  son.  This 
act  of  kindness  showed  me  the  great  warm  hearts  of  these  two 


REMINISCENCES.  143 

splendid  old  people,  a  generous  act  that  I  cannot  let  pass  with- 
out special  mention. 

Dr.  Manly  had  been  the  President  of  the  University  for 
eighteen  years,  from  1837  to  1855.  During  this  period  he  had 
taught  hundreds  of  young  men  whom  he  affectionately  called 
his  sons. 

He  was  a  man  of  unusual  ability.  He  was  noted  as  much 
for  his  superior  common  sense  and  his  childlike  simplicity  as 
for  his  great  intellectuality.  He  was  one  of  the  best  preachers 
of  his  day.  He  did  not,  like  Bascom,  sweep  everything  be- 
fore him  in  a  tornado  of  eloquence,  nor,  like  Pierce,  win  by 
graceful  and  persuasive  oratory.  His  style  was  at  the  opposite 
pole.  With  a  fine  head  crowned  with  white  hair,  a  fresh,  be- 
nignant face,  large,  expressive  blue  eyes,  a  soft,  winsome  voice, 
and  gestures  as  artless  as  a  child's,  when  he  stood  up  to  preach, 
spiritual  power  descended  from  the  pulpit  like  the  dews  of  Her- 
mon.  The  following  quotation  is  from  West's  "History  of 
Methodism  in  Alabama" :  "For  1838  Tuscaloosa  was  supplied 
by  Rev.  Charles  Hardy.  For  two  months,  until  Mr.  Hardy 
reached  Tuscaloosa,  the  Rev.  Basil  Manly,  a  Baptist  preacher 
who  had  just  been  installed  as  President  of  the  University  of 
Alabama,  preached  for  the  Methodists  at  the  morning  service 
on  Sunday.  The  congregation  thought  him  devotedly  pious 
and  of  great  simplicity." 

Glorious  old  man!  I  am  glad  that  I  knew  him  and  his  good 
wife,  who  well  matched  him  in  every  fine  quality  of  soul.  In 
the  dark  days  of  Reconstruction,  in  1867,  when  it  seemed  that 
everything  was  going  to  the  bad  in  the  Black  Belt  of  Alabama, 
I  felt  the  depression  of  the  gloomy  situation  and  thought  of 
going  West  and  growing  up  with  a  new  country.  I  believed 
that  letters  of  introduction  from  two  such  well-known  men  as 
Dr.  Manly  and  Dr.  Garland  would  give  me  some  recognition 
among  strangers.  Dr.  Manly  wrote  me  a  very  complimentary 
recommendation;  but  in  a  separate  note  he  cautioned  me 
against  relying  much  on  any  one's  recommendation,  since 
this  indicated  a  lack  of  confidence  in  one's  self.  When  I 
read  the  note  I  felt  the  blood  come  into  my  face,  for  I  saw 


144  REMINISCENCES. 

that  he  had  guarded  me  against  the  tendency  of  young  people 
(and  sometimes  older  ones)  to  think  that  others  can  raise  them 
to  positions  of  profit  and  honor  by  recommendations.  Dr. 
Manly's  suggestion  deepened  the  determination,  already  strong, 
to  make  my  own  way,  trusting  in  God's  help  alone.  Since  then 
I  have  written  hundreds  of  recommendations.  I  have  never 
written  one,  I  believe,  without  thinking  of  Dr.  Manly's  letter. 
Recommendations  are  right  and  proper  on  going  into  a  new 
place  merely  as  letters  of  introduction,  but  I  have  very  often 
felt  that  the  desire  to  be  overmuch  recommended  indicates  a 
lack  of  that  genuine  faith  in  one's  self  that  must  constitute  the 
basis  of  success  in  any  line  of  work.  I  would  say  to  young 
people :  "Never  lie  down  on  anybody's  recommendation,  but 
rely  on  yourselves  and  cultivate  the  good  will  of  your  fellow 
men." 

To  return  to  the  year  1860-61,  I  studied  surveying  and 
engineering  under  Colonel  Murfee,  mechanics  under  Professor 
Benagh,  chemistry  with  Dr.  Mallet  and  Colonel  Huse,  English 
with  Professor  Pratt,  French  with  Professor  DeLoffre,  and 
Hardee's  tactics  with  different  officers. 

About  the  first  of  December  we  had  a  prize-shooting  with 
our  new  Springfield  muskets.  These  were  rifled,  half-inch- 
bore  guns  loaded  from  the  muzzle  with  cartridges  carrying  a 
conically  shaped  ounce  lead  missile  and  fired  by  percussion 
caps.  The  loading  and  capping  was  a  slow  business  compared 
with  the  modern  breech-loading  arrangement,  but  these  guns 
shot  with  surprising  accuracy  for  a  distance  of  several  hundred 
yards.  We  had  two  or  three  practices  before  the  day  set  for 
the  prize-shooting.  I  found  that  the  glitter  of  the  hind  sight 
dazzled  my  eyes  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  take  an  accurate 
"sight."  I  had  learned  in  my  boyhood  that  the  hind  sight  of 
a  rifle  should  be  colored  dark ;  so  I  colored  the  hind  sight  of  my 
musket  with  ink.  On  the  final  day  of  the  shooting  we  were  to 
shoot  at  a  "bull's  eye"  at  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards.  I 
won  the  prize  (a  gold  lace  star)  awarded  to  the  best  marks- 
man. This  was  due  to  good  eyes,  steady  nerves,  and  rifle  prac- 
tice in  my  boyhood. 


REMINISCENCES.  145 

THE  SECESSION  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA  AND  THE  SENSATION  IT 

CREATED. 

In  the  latter  part  of  December,  1860,  when  South  Carolina 
seceded  and  Governor  Moore  called  a  convention  (provided 
for  by  the  Legislature)  to  determine  what  Alabama  would  do, 
excitement  began  to  run  high.  While  many  followed  Mr. 
Yancey  in  his  purpose  to  take  the  State  out  of  the  Union,  many 
others  at  that  time  strenuously  opposed  this  plan.  Mr.  Yan- 
cey's  determination  and  eloquence  prevailed;  and  when  the 
convention  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession  on  January  n, 
1861,  the  whole  State  was  in  a  ferment  of  mingled  feelings  of 
joy  and  sorrow,  wonder  and  regret.  I  thought  that  we  were 
taking  a  momentous  step  whose  consequences  no  one  could 
foretell.  Even  if  we  should  be  able  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union  peaceably,  I  felt  that  we  were  cutting  loose  from  a  gov- 
ernment which  I  had  been  taught  to  regard  with  patriotic  pride. 
If  we  should  succeed  in  establishing  the  principle  of  secession, 
what  would  keep  South  Carolina  or  Alabama  or  any  other 
State  from  withdrawing  from  any  Southern  government  which 
we  might  form?  Would  we  not  be  in  danger  of  having  a  lot 
of  weak  little  governments  fighting  among  themselves  and  lia- 
ble to  fall  a  prey  to  some  European  power  ?  Others  may  have 
felt  the  same  way.  Such  feelings,  however,  were  rather  the 
silent  undercurrent.  Like  the  waves  on  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
the  manifestations  of  sympathy  with  the  trend  of  events  were 
more  noisy  than  deep  and  serious  thought  would  have  justified. 
Hot-blooded  young  people  are  always  fond  of  excitement.  The 
students  of  the  University  were  generally  very  much  elated  at 
the  prospective  changes  which  they  imagined  would  open  new 
enterprises  to  them.  If  war  should  come,  they  expected  to  take 
a  prominent  part  in  it.  The  vision  of  military  glory  captivated 
their  imaginations. 
10 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Corps  Presented  to  the  Legislature — The  Trend  of  Affairs — Speech  of 
Judge  A.  B.  Meek — Lack  of  Vision  in  Our  Leaders — Firing  on  Fort 
Sumter — The  Invasion  of  Virginia — Sent  to  Montgomery  to  Drill 
Troops— First  Visit  to  Prattville— Dr.  S.  P.  Smith— Mrs.  Adelaide 
Julia  (Allen)  Smith — Promoted  to  State  Lieutenant — Sent  to  North 
Alabama  to  Drill  Troops — My  Classmates. 

TN  the  last  week  of  January  Dr.  Garland  published  the  order 
•••  that  the  whole  corps  should  go  to  Montgomery  to  be  pre- 
sented  to  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature.  We  left  in  a  heavy 
rainstorm,  escorted  from  the  University  to  the  boat  by  the 
Warrior  Guards,  commanded  by  Captain  Robert  Emmet 
Rodes,  who  rose  to  the  rank  of  major  general  in  the  Confed- 
erate army  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  in 
September,  1864.  We  went  from  Tuscaloosa  to  Mobile  on  a 
stern-wheel  boat  called  the  Cherokee.  To  carry  our  clothes 
and  blankets,  we  were  ordered  to  take  one  trunk  for  each  room. 
Being  cadet  quartermaster,  I  had  charge  of  the  baggage,  which 
went  all  right,  except  that  two  pieces  failed  to  be  transferred 
from  one  boat  to  the  other  in  Mobile.  These  pieces  were  found 
on  the  first  boat  when  we  returned  to  Mobile.  I  little  dreamed 
then  what  trouble  I  was  destined  to  have  in  the  years  to  come 
when  I  should  have  to  look  after  the  baggage  of  hundreds  of 
girls. 

On  arrival  in  Mobile  we  marched  from  the  boat  to  the  Battle 
House  dressed  in  our  best  clothes.  There  is  something  in 
military  dress  and  equipage  that  elicits  attention.  There  is 
still  more  in  the  serious  object  to  which  these  external  signs  all 
point.  When  we  marched  back  from  the  hotel  to  the  boat  in 
our  glittering  uniforms,  with  our  cadet  flag  displaying  "A.  C. 
C."  on  its  silken  folds,  we  were  the  cynosure  of  all  eyes.  The 
quick  step,  timed  to  the  drum  and  fife,  had  drawn  attention 
from  all  quarters,  showing  that  it  was  a  novel  sight  in  the  early 
days  of  1861. 

The  trip  from  Mobile  to  Montgomery  was  made  on  a  fine, 
(146) 


REMINISCENCES.  147 

new  double-decker  called  the  Southern  Republic.  She  was 
making  her  maiden  trip  and  was  as  anxious  to  show  her  fine 
qualities  as  we  were  to  display  ours.  She  was  equipped  with 
a  calliope,  which  played  "Dixie"  and  other  stirring  tunes  al- 
most constantly  during  the  trip  of  two  days  and  nights. 

There  were  no  telephones  then,  very  little  telegraphic  com- 
munication, and  few  rapidly  distributed  morning  papers  with 
bold  headlines,  such  as  we  now  have.  To  get  quick  and  accu- 
rate news,  one  had  to  go  in  person  to  the  scene  of  the  excite- 
ment. Hence  the  boat  was  crowded  with  intelligent  and  prom- 
inent people  going  to  the  capital  to  see  what  the  outcome  of  all 
this  excitement  might  be.  They  were  not  backward  in  showing 
us  marked  attention.  We  had  the  opportunity  of  forming 
many  acquaintances  among  the  leading  people  of  the  State. 

After  leaving  Mobile,  Dr.  Garland  summoned  Richard  H. 
Clarke  ("Dick,"  we  called  him),  J.  C.  Knox,  and  myself.  He 
told  us  that  he  wanted  us  to  draw  up  a  petition  to  the  Legisla- 
ture soliciting  an  appropriation  for  the  better  equipment  of  the 
corps.  He  gave  us  the  line  of  argument  which  he  thought  ad- 
visable. He  said  he  wished  us  to  write  the  petition  in  our  own 
style;  for  if  he  should  write  it,  the  earmarks  of  his  style  would 
be  too  apparent.  He  desired  the  petition  to  come  from  the 
students  and  not  from  himself.  We  all  wrote  something  and 
turned  the  papers  over  to  Clarke,  who  composed  well  and  wrote 
a  beautiful  hand.  Before  we  reached  Montgomery  we  read  the 
paper  to  Dr.  Garland,  who  passed  a  favorable  comment  on  our 
work.  At  the  proper  time  it  was  presented  to  the  officials  of 
the  State.  Of  course  Dr.  Garland  presented  some  arguments 
from  his  standpoint  and  in  his  own  forcible  style.  What  influ- 
ence our  petition  had,  I  do  not  know ;  but  an  appropriation  was 
made  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  Legislature. 

SPEECH  OF  JUDGE  A.  B.  MEEK. 

On  our  arrival  in  Montgomery  we  marched  to  our  quarters 
in  a  large  hall  with  some  adjoining  rooms  on  Main  Street 
(now  Dexter  Avenue),  about  halfway  between  Court  Square 
and  the  Capitol.  Here  we  had  comfortable  quarters  compared 


148  REMINISCENCES. 

with  what  many  of  us  were  to  have  during  the  next  four  years. 
We  drilled  on  the  streets  more  or  less  every  day.  It  was  ar- 
ranged on  one  of  the  days  that  \ve  should  be  presented  to  the 
Legislature.  This  august  body  was  collected  on  the  balcony 
and  on  the  steps  and  in  the  yard  in  front  of  the  Capitol.  After 
we  had  performed  some  evolutions  such  as  the  small  space  and 
the  slope  of  the  ground  would  allow  and  had  gone  through  the 
manual  of  arms  (which  elicited  great  applause),  we  were  ad- 
dressed by  Judge  A.  B.  Meek.  We  should  have  been  pleased 
to  hear  Mr.  Yancey,  as  he  was  the  great  light  in  the  political 
firmament ;  but  I  believe  that  he  never  made  speeches  unless  he 
had  something  worth  while  to  speak  about.  Judge  Meek  was 
a  poet  and  could  make  a  pretty  speech  on  any  subject  or  even 
without  a  subject.  In  his  address  of  about  fifteen  minutes  I 
recall  one  striking  figure.  As  I  remember  it,  the  figure  ran 
thus : 

On  December  20  a  new  star  appeared  in  our  political  sky  conspicuous 
for  its  brilliancy  [South  Carolina].  Twenty  days  later  another  arose 
whose  radiance  equaled  that  of  the  first  [Mississippi].  The  next  evening 
still  another  came  forth  with  its  mellow  light  [Florida],  Then  on  the 
evening  following  a  fourth  lent  its  effulgence  to  the  rapidly  increasing 
cluster  [Alabama].  Eight  days  later  there  emerged  from  the  east  a  sister 
star  whose  cloudless  orb  adds  a  new  glory  to  this  charming  group  [Geor- 
gia]. When  lo !  in  the  west  two  more  splendid  luminaries  [Louisiana  and 
Texas]  completed  the  constellation  of  seven  stars  which  are  destined  to 
shine  in  our  political  firmament  like  the  Pleiades  in  the  heavens. 

LACK  OF  VISION  IN  OUR  LEADERS. 

This  poetic  conception  expressed  in  the  eloquence  of  Judge 
Meek  as  he  stood  before  us  in  his  gigantic  figure  captivated  our 
impressible  imaginations.  But  I  do  not  now  think,  after 
more  than  fifty  years  of  experience  and  observation,  that  it 
expressed  a  wise  political  policy.  Slavery  was  not  in  theory 
made  the  basis  of  this  Southern  plan  of  government,  it  is  true; 
but,  practically,  it  had  been  up  to  this  time  the  controlling  ele- 
ment in  its  inception.  But  for  slavery,  the  attempt  to  form  a 
Southern  Confederacy  would  not  have  been  made.  Everything 
else  could  have  been  settled  without  war.  It  seems  now  that 
our  leaders  ought  to  have  seen  that  a  permanent  government 


REMINISCENCES.  149 

could  not  stand  on  such  a  foundation.  Thomas  Jefferson  in  his 
latter  years  feared  the  consequences  of  the  growing  power  of 
slavery  and  said  that  the  thought  of  it  "alarmed  him  like  the 
sound  of  a  fire  bell  at  night."  Henry  Clay  advocated  gradual 
emancipation  extending  through  fifty  years.  General  Robert 
E.  Lee  had  freed  all  of  his  own  slaves  before  the  war.  Many 
of  the  best  men  in  the  South  were  far  from  being  satisfied  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  even  while  they  owned  slaves  that  had 
come  to  them  by  inheritance.  They  were  enmeshed  in  a  condi- 
tion from  which  they  could  not  extricate  themselves  without 
the  concerted  action  of  the  whole  population.  Even  then  it 
would  have  taxed  the  entire  nation  to  deal  with  it.  But,  how- 
ever great  the  difficulties,  our  leaders  ought  to  have  seen  that 
the  sentiment  of  the  civilized  world  was  tending  toward  free- 
dom, that  slavery  stood  in  the  way  of  the  rising  spirit  of  in- 
dustrialism, that  the  drift  of  modern  governments  toward  na- 
tionalism would  defeat  our  efforts  to  establish  the  extreme 
doctrine  of  States'  rights  and  intense  individualism,  and  that 
we  could  not  stem  the  tide  of  these  world  movements. 

While  all  this  seems  clear  now,  it  was  not  so  evident  in  1861. 
Many  believed,  as  Mr.  Yancey  expressed  it,  that  cotton  was 
king,  that  we  had  a  monopoly  in  this  indispensable  material, 
and  that  the  world  would  be  compelled  to  acknowledge  its  su- 
premacy; and,  as  Mr.  A.  H.  Stephens  expressed  the  case,  that 
slavery  was  the  normal  condition  of  human  society,  that  this 
condition  was  best  for  both  master  and  slave,  and  that  it  was 
indorsed  by  the  precepts  and  practices  recorded  in  the  Bible. 

The  extreme  and  violent  teaching  of  the  abolitionists,  cul- 
minating in  the  John  Brown  raid  at  Harper's  Ferry  in  1859, 
his  execution  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  and  his  canonization 
by  the  extremists  of  the  North — all  these  things  portended  "an 
irrepressible  conflict,"  as  Mr.  Seward  expressed  it,  a  conflict 
which  had  to  be  fought  out  to  the  bitter  end.  We  shall  see 
something  of  this  conflict  as  our  narrative  proceeds. 

Getting  back  to  the  corps,  our  stay  in  Montgomery  embraced 
about  five  days,  including  one  Sunday,  on  which  we  marched 
in  a  body  to  the  Baptist  church  to  hear  Dr.  Manly,  who  had 


150  REMINISCENCES. 

recently  moved  from  Tuscaloosa  to  Montgomery.  However 
much  we  might  have  been  pleased  to  linger  longer  in  Mont- 
gomery amid  these  exciting  scenes,  we  had  to  get  back  to  work 
at  the  University. 

Our  return  trip  to  Mobile  was  made  on  the  fine  steamer  St. 
Charles,  that  plied  between  Montgomery  and  Mobile.  We 
stopped  in  Selma  and  drilled  on  the  streets  for  an  hour.  This 
voyage  was  pleasant  but  uneventful  beyond  the  interest  mani- 
fested in  public  affairs  by  the  passengers.  Among  these  were 
Judge  A.  A.  Coleman  and  his  little  son,  who  was  taking  home 
with  him  a  small  kettledrum  as  a  symbol  of  the  martial  spirit 
which  was  rapidly  spreading  throughout  the  country.  Our  trip 
was  planned  to  catch  the  Warrior  boat  which  had  brought  us 
down. 

In  our  voyage  of  three  days  from  Mobile  to  Tuscaloosa  we 
passed  up  the  Tombigbee  by  St.  Stephen's  Bluff;  by  Bladon 
Springs  Landing  and  the  border  of  my  native  Choctaw  Coun- 
ty; through  Demopolis,  the  "City  of  the  People,"  founded  by 
the  survivors  of  the  defeated  and  dethroned  Napoleon ;  then  up 
the  narrow  and  crooked  Warrior  through  one  of  the  finest 
farming  sections  in  the  South. 

On  arrival  at  the  University  we  found  that  about  two  weeks 
had  passed  since  we  had  looked  into  a  book  and  that  it  required 
heroic  effort  to  get  back  to  study,  for  the  routine  duties  of 
college  life  were  tame  compared  with  the  exciting  scenes  we 
had  just  passed  through.  I  was  agreeably  surprised,  how- 
ever, to  find  how  quickly  we  recovered  our  usual  college  tone 
when  we  had  plenty  of  work  to  do.  Work  is  the  best  antidote 
for  ennui  and  discontent.  We  were  so  busy  that  we  had  no 
time  to  discuss  what  was  going  on  outside  of  the  University, 
at  least  for  a  while.  We  had  no  morning  papers  with  flaming 
headlines  to  keep  us  excited. 

Dr.  Garland  was  very  hopeful  that  there  would  be  no  war. 
So  firm  was  he  in  his  belief  in  the  doctrine  almost  universally 
conceded,  in  the  North  as  well  as  in  the  South,  that  a  State  had 
the  right  to  secede,  that  he  thought  the  North  would,  as  Hor- 
ace Greeley  advised,  "let  the  erring  sisters  go  in  peace." 


REMINISCENCES.  151 

FIRING  ON  FORT  SUMTER. 

If  our  leaders  could  have  foreseen  the  denouement  of  af- 
fairs, it  would  have  been  better  not  to  fire  on  Fort  Sumter,  even 
if  the  Federals  had  dared  to  shell  Charleston.  As  was  believed 
by  the  Southern  commissioners,  with  whom  the  authorities  of 
the  United  States  had  dallied  for  five  weeks,  and  is  still  gen- 
erally believed,  Mr.  Lincoln  shrewdly  maneuvered  to  induce 
the  Confederates  to  fire  on  Fort  Sumter.  Dr.  Charles  Edward 
Stowe,  the  son  of  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  the  author  of  "Un- 
cle Tom's  Cabin,"  made  this  statement  in  the  Methodist  Re- 
view of  October,  1911 : 

This  attack  on  the  national  flag  was  in  great  part  the  result  of  the 
diplomacy  of  the  astute  Lincoln,  whom  we  credit  with  the  deliberate  in- 
tention of  compelling  the  South  to  strike  the  first  blow  and  so  appear 
before  the  world  as  responsible  for  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  It 
was  a  shrewd  move  and  gave  the  North  unspeakable  advantage  from  the 
first. 

This  aroused  and  united  the  North.  When  Mr.  Lincoln 
called  for  seventy-five  thousand  troops,  and  when  a  regiment 
of  Federal  troops  was  attacked  in  Baltimore  on  April  19,  Dr. 
Garland  came  galloping  home  from  town  on  his  little  black 
mare  bringing  the  latest  news,  his  naturally  thin  and  pale  face 
more  flushed  than  I  had  ever  seen  it.  The  awful  situation  was 
beginning  to  dawn  upon  him.  He  said :  "I  fear  that  we  shall 
have  war.  Blood  has  been  shed  on  the  streets  of  Baltimore." 

Upon  the  call  of  Mr.  Lincoln  for  troops  to  suppress  the 
rebellion,  four  more  States — Arkansas,  North  Carolina,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Tennessee — withdrew  from  the  Union  and  joined 
the  Confederacy;  and  the  whole  country  was  fast  becoming  a 
military  camp,  soldiers  being  drilled  and  armed  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  It  was  becoming  hard  to  hold  the  cadets  down  to  the 
quietude  of  study.  Some  of  the  older  ones  were  being  solicited 
to  join  the  newly  formed  commands  as  drillmasters  and  sub- 
ordinate officers.  Through  the  strong  personal  influence  of 
Dr.  Garland  most  of  us  were  held  to  our  posts  till  the  close  of 
the  session,  in  July,  1861. 

I  was  gratified  at  the  result  of  my  year's  work  when  the 


152  REMINISCENCES. 

President  announced  from  the  rostrum  on  commencement  day  : 
"Cadet  Massey  is  first  on  the  roll  of  honor  for  scholarship  and 
stands  alone,  with  no  demerits  against  him."  It  had  heen  a 
year's  work  beset  with  interruptions  and  temptations  to  turn 
aside  from  the  most  important  thing  for  me  at  that  time  and 
for  the  rest  of  my  life — namely,  my  education.  I  was  begin- 
ning to  see  in  some  degree  the  vital  importance  of  giving  all  my 
energies  to  whatever  I  had  to  do,  so  as  not  to  be  diverted  by 
any  side  issues.  This  purpose  has  enabled  me  with  limited 
talents  to  do  a  little  something  which  I  hope  may  count  on  the 
side  of  right. 

During  the  vacation  of  1861  I  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
University  buildings  and  quartermaster's  stores.  I  spent  part 
of  the  time  in  drilling  troops  that  were  getting  ready  for  active 
service.  During  this  summer  I  had  the  pleasure  and  advantage 
of  associating  during  my  leisure  hours  with  the  families  of  the 
professors  of  the  University  and  other  cultivated  and  refined 
people  of  the  town. 

After  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  on  July  21,  1861,  which  re- 
sulted in  a  victory  for  the  Confederates  and  a  stampede  of  the 
Federals,  many  began  to  think  that  the  war  would  be  of  short 
duration.  But  when  Mr.  Lincoln  called  for  three  hundred 
thousand  additional  troops  and  they  came  at  his  bidding,  like 
the  soldiers  that  sprang  from  the  dragon's  teeth  sown  by  Cad- 
mus, it  became  evident  to  every  thoughtful  mind  that  we  were 
to  have  war  in  earnest — deadly,  destructive  war,  heart-rending, 
blood-shedding  war,  which  "means  hell,"  according  to  the 
definition  attributed  to  General  Sherman. 

THE  INVASION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

The  firing  on  the  flag  at  Fort  Sumter  had  stirred  the  North 
to  a  frenzy  of  passion.  The  invasion  of  Virginia  had  stirred 
the  South  even  more.  The  indignation  caused  by  the  firing  on 
the  flag  grew  out  of  a  patriotic  sentiment,  while  the  invasion 
of  the  territory  of  the  South  for  the  purpose  of  subjugation 
was  a  deadly  thrust  that  united  us  almost  to  a  man  to  resist  it 
to  the  last  extremity.  This  was  what  inspired  the  Confederates 


REMINISCENCES.  153 

to  become  what  the  late  Bishop  David  H.  Moore,  a  lieutenant 
colonel  in  the  Federal  army  in  1862,  recently  wrote  of  them: 
"Of  a  truth,  they  were  the  greatest  soldiers  that  mortals  ever 
fought."  No  real  man,  especially  no  Anglo-Saxon,  will  tamely 
submit  to  the  invasion  of  his  home.  The  men  who  had  been 
strenuously  opposed  to  secession  were  now  as  enthusiastic  in 
repelling  invasion  as  the  most  rabid  secessionists.  Both  sides, 
North  and  South,  lost  sight  of  the  original  issue  in  the  contro- 
versy. "Honor  the  flag"  and  "Save  the  Union"  became  the 
slogans  of  the  North.  The  sentiment  of  Marco  Bozzaris, 

"Strike — till  the  last  armed  foe  expires; 
Strike — for  your  altars  and  your  fires; 
Strike — for  the  green  graves  of  your  sires ; 
God — and  your  native  land," 

fired  the  heart  of  the  South.  These  powerful  passions  fused 
and  remolded  men's  convictions  and  practically  made  the  North 
a  unit  for  the  "flag"  and  "the  Union"  and  the  South  a  unit  in 
defense  of  home  and  native  land. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  South  was  fighting  to  per- 
petuate slavery;  for  the  majority  of  the  Confederate  soldiers 
never  owned  slaves,  and  some  who  did  own  them  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  institution.  It  is  likewise  a  mistake  to  con- 
clude that  the  main  body  of  the  Federal  army  were  fighting  to 
free  the  slaves.  While  the  subject  of  slavery  was  originally  the 
main  bone  of  contention,  the  two  strong  opposing  currents  of 
feeling  had  drifted  away  from  this  issue.  We  had  passed  the 
first  stage  of  the  controversy.  In  the  minds  of  the  Confeder- 
ates the  duty  of  self-defense  was  paramount  and  eclipsed  every 
other  thought.  In  the  minds  of  the  Federals  the  duty  of  de- 
fending the  flag  seemed  to  be  the  dominant  consideration. 

Now  that  the  smoke  of  battle  has  cleared  away  and  the  trans- 
parent atmosphere  permits  us  to  see  things  in  their  proper  per- 
spective, we  can  see  that  self-defense  is  an  indispensable  char- 
acteristic of  genuine  manhood  and  that  patriotism  is  a  noble 
quality  worthy  of  great  honor;  that  the  heroic  courage  which 
can  face  death  rather  than  surrender  what  is  honestly  believed 
to  be  right  is  worthy  of  the  highest  honor,  on  whichever  side 


154  REMINISCENCES. 

displayed.  "Manhood  is  the  one  immortal  thing  beneath  time's 
changeful  sky." 

The  college  year  of  1861-62  opened  in  the  latter  part  of 
September  \vith  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  students.  My 
room  for  the  first  half  of  this  year  was  the  south  end  room  on 
the  third  floor  of  Washington  Barracks  with  Luke  White  Dug- 
gar  and  John  Franklin  Griffin,  who  escaped  the  carnage  of 
war,  served  their  generation*  as  good  citizens,  and  were  gath- 
ered to  their  fathers  some  years  ago.  Duggar  was  a  quiet 
farmer  in  Perry  County.  His  name  has  been  mentioned  on  a 
former  page  in  connection  with  our  Religious  Club.  Griffin 
was  a  merchant  and  cotton  broker  in  Demopolis  and  served 
one  or  two  terms  in  the  Legislature. 

This  was  my  senior  year.  I  found,  from  the  severe  disci- 
pline and  study  of  the  two  preceding  years,  that  I  had  less  diffi- 
culty in  my  studies  than  ever  before.  The  main  part  of  my 
work  was  with  Dr.  Garland,  Professor  Benagh,  and  Professor 
DeLoffre.  The  first  part  of  the  year  I  continued  to  serve  as 
secretary  in  the  President's  office.  I  also  did  some  good  read- 
ing in  spite  of  the  war  spirit,  which  at  times  ran  very  high. 
At  one  time  this  war  feeling  threatened  to  break  up  the  col- 
lege, as  it  had  done  most  of  the  colleges  throughout  the  coun- 
try; but  Dr.  Garland's  strong  personal  influence  and  his  mas- 
terly arguments  held  most  of  us  in  our  places  till  the  close  of 
the  year.  If  the  war  should  close  soon,  he  said,  we  would  not 
be  needed  in  the  field,  and  our  education  could  go  on  without 
interruption;  but  if  the  war  should  be  prolonged,  we  could  do 
more  good  where  we  were  in  preparing  ourselves  as  drillmas- 
ters  and  thoroughly  trained  officers  than  we  could  by  prema- 
turely sacrificing  ourselves  in  the  field.  And  in  case  there 
should  be  a  long-continued  war,  we  would  have  plenty  of  time 
to  show  our  patriotism  when  we  would  be  better  prepared  to 
render  efficient  service  to  our  country.  He  told  us  that  he  had 
a  message  from  the  President  of  the  Confederacy  urging  him 
to  hold  the  University  intact,  as  it  was  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant feeders  of  the  army  in  keeping  up  a  supply  of  trained 
officers,  and  that  it  would  be  poor  economy  to  "grind  up  our 


REMINISCENCES.  155 

seed  corn  for  immediate  use."  No  argument,  however,  could 
prevent  some  from  leaving  the  college  and  going  into  the  field 
during  the  year;  but  most  of  us,  seeing  the  reasonableness  of 
the  Doctor's  plan  and  feeling  the  force  of  his  personal  influ- 
ence, decided  to  remain  till  the  close  of  the  year. 

SENT  TO  MONTGOMERY  TO  DRILL  TROOPS. 

Early  in  December,  1861,  Cadets  Eugene  A.  Smith,  C.  H. 
Ellerbe,  and  myself  were  detailed  to  assist  in  drilling  a  regi- 
ment of  troops  which  was  being  formed  in  Montgomery.  We 
carried  from  Dr.  Garland  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Governor 
A.  B.  Moore,  which  we  presented  on  arrival  in  the  city.  He 
received  us  very  courteously  and  insisted  on  our  taking  seats, 
which  we  declined  to  do,  but  stood  at  "attention"  while  he  gave 
us  our  orders.  On  receiving  orders  we  proceeded  immediate- 
ly to  the  camp  of  instruction.  I  wras  told  afterwards  that  the 
Governor  was  highly  pleased  with  our  appearance  and  our  de- 
portment. He  said:  "I  like  the  manner  of  those  fellows,  but 
I  could  not  get  one  of  them  to  take  a  seat.  As  soon  as  I  could 
give  them  their  orders  they  went  straight  to  the  camp." 

The  camp  was  located  near  the  river  about  where  the  electric 
light  plant  is  now  located.  In  this  place  we  were  occupied 
about  two  weeks  in  drilling  the  troops. 

FIRST  VISIT  TO  PRATTVILLE. 

While  we  were  in  this  camp  I  made  my  first  trip  to  Pratt- 
ville,  on  the  invitation  of  my  friend  Smith.  There  was  no  rail- 
road to  Prattville  then.  Travel  had  to  be  performed  by  boat 
or  private  conveyance.  We  went  on  a  boat  to  Washington 
Landing  and  out  to  the  village  by  private  conveyance. 

I  was  hospitably  entertained  at  the  home  of  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith. 
The  generous  hospitality  of  the  Doctor  and  his  excellent  family 
I  have  always  esteemed  among  the  many  good  fortunes  that 
have  come  into  my  life.  He  was  my  devoted  friend  to  the  day 
of  his  death.  There  was  nothing  little  about  the  man.  Of  fine 
native  endowments,  well  cultivated,  magnanimously  interested 
in  all  public  questions,  but  never  asking  political  preferment; 


i56  REMINISCENCES. 

an  excellent  physician  who  practiced,  not  for  gain,  but  for  the 
good  of  his  fellow  men ;  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Church,  from 
the  choir  to  the  collections,  yet  his  devout  spirit  was  not  con- 
fined to  any  mere  form — such  a  man  is  not  often  found  twice 
in  a  generation  in  the  same  community.  Happy  is  the  com- 
munity that  can  produce  one;  yet  Prattville  was  blessed  with 
two,  S.  P.  Smith  and  Daniel  Pratt. 

Here  I  met  for  the  first  time  Miss  Julia  A.  Smith,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Smith  and  sister  of  my  classmate,  Dr.  E.  A.  Smith. 
Soon  afterwards  she  was  married  to  Mr.  Merrill  E.  Pratt,  the 
nephew  and  worthy  successor  in  business  of  Hon.  Daniel  Pratt. 
The  Julia  A.  Pratt  Residence  Hall  of  the  Woman's  College,  in 
Montgomery,  is  honored  with  her  name  as  a  tribute  to  her 
liberality.  In  the  years  following  my  first  visit  to  Prattville  I 
have  had  the  honor  of  educating  all  of  Mrs.  Pratt's  daughters, 
who  are  perpetuating  the  fine  qualities  of  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith  and 
Hon.  Daniel  Pratt.  Prattville  bears  the  worthy  name  of  the 
latter  and  has  been  ennobled  by  the  generous  spirit  of  the  for- 
mer. 

MRS.  ADELAIDE  JULIA  (ALLEN)  SMITH. 

From  the  time  of  my  first  visit,  in  1861,  till  her  death,  in 
1891,  I  was  the  recipient  of  so  many  acts  of  kindness  from 
Mrs.  Adelaide  Julia  (Allen)  Smith  that  my  recollection  of  her 
constitutes  a  bright  place  in  my  reminiscences.  She  was  the 
only  daughter  of  Richard  and  Julia  (Phelps)  Allen,  who 
moved  from  Connecticut  about  1839  and  settled  in  Autauga 
County  near  Washington,  four  miles  southeast  of  Prattville. 
Soon  afterwards  she  was  married  to  Dr.  S.  P.  Smith  and  be- 
came the  mother  of  Dr.  Eugene  Allen  Smith  and  Mrs.  Julia 
A.  (Smith)  Pratt,  whose  lives  have  been  so  intimately  and 
pleasantly  associated  with  mine. 

Mrs.  Smith  was  a  woman  of  a  very  high  order  of  native 
talent  and  withal  of  genuine  simplicity  and  unaffected  man- 
ners. It  was  easy  to  feel  at  home  in  her  house.  I  saw  her  in 
the  social  circle  when  everything  was  bright  and  happy.  I 
saw  her  when  the  "Yankees"  entered  her  house,  an  event  that 
generally  created  great  consternation.  I  was  near  her  when 


REMINISCENCES.  157 

death  entered  her  family  and  deprived  her  of  a  highly  accom- 
plished daughter.  She  maintained  such  equanimity  and  dignity 
through  all  these  different  phases  of  experience  that  I  wish  to 
pay  her  the  tribute  of  not  only  exercising  a  warm  and  generous 
hospitality,  but  of  exhibiting  great  poise  and  strength  of 
character. 

During  our  two  weeks'  stay  in  the  encampment  at  Mont- 
gomery I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  inauguration  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Gill  Shorter,  who  was  destined  to  have  a  stormy 
administration  from  December,  1861,  to  December,  1863.  He 
was  a  good  man,  but  was  not  of  a  temperament  to  make  a 
famous  war  governor.  It  is  a  misfortune  to  any  man  to  be 
placed  in  a  position  which  he  is  not  adapted  to  fill  with  effi- 
ciency. The  war  tested  the  mettle  of  many  a  man,  both  in  civil 
and  military  life. 

APPOINTED  STATE  LIEUTENANT. 

In  February,  1862,  I  wras  promoted  to  a  State  lieutenancy, 
commissioned  by  the  Governor,  and  placed  in  command  of 
Company  C  of  .the  Alabama  Corps  of  Cadets.  This  made  it 
necessary  to  move  to  the  south  end  room  on  the  first  floor  of 
Jefferson  Barracks.  My  friends  E.  A.  Smith,  John  H.  Pet- 
way,  and  John  H.  Marshall  occupied  the  room  above  mine. 
This  advancement  placed  me  in  authority,  in  point  of  inspec- 
tion, over  some  with  whom  I  had  been  in  class  during  the  for- 
mer years.  Instead  of  annoying  me,  as  they  might  have  done, 
they  were  very  courteous  and  helpful  by  their  good  example. 
I  had  very  little  trouble  in  the  performance  of  my  duties.  I 
recall  only  one  instance  of  an  unpleasant  nature.  As  I  was 
going  on  the  rounds  of  inspection  one  day  at  an  unexpected 
hour  I  tapped  on  a  door  and  went  in.  The  tap  was  the  signal 
to  the  inmates  to  rise  and  stand  "at  attention"  during  the  in- 
spection of  the  room.  As  I  entered  the  door  I  saw  the  bed- 
clothes quickly  thrown  back  over  the  bed.  I  turned  the  cover 
down  and  discovered  a  deck  of  cards  spread  out  on  the  mattress. 
I  uttered  no  word  of  comment,  but  went  on  with  the  inspection, 
which  required  only  a  few  minutes.  After  finishing  my  inspec- 


158  REMINISCENCES. 

tion,  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  commandant's  office  to  make  my 
report.  One  of  the  occupants  of  the  room  in  which  the  cards 
were  found,  a  tall  young  man,  met  me  just  outside  of  the 
building  and  said :  "You  are  not  going  to  report  our  room,  are 
you?''  I  replied:  "Yes;  you  know  that  it  is  a  violation  of  the 
regulations  to  have  cards  in  your  room,  and  my  duty  requires 
me  to  report  all  violations  when  discovered."  He  said :  "Well, 
you  must  not  do  it.  If  you  do,  you  will  have  to  answer  for 
it."  I  responded:  "I  will  report  it  to  Colonel  Murfee.  You 
will  have  to  settle  the  matter  with  him."  I  reported  it,  and 
the  cadets  were  punished.  The  one  who  objected  was  expelled 
for  this  and  other  disorderly  conduct.  So  ended  the  only  trou- 
ble I  had  while  in  command  of  the  company. 

SENT  TO  NORTH  ALABAMA  TO  DRILL  TROOPS. 

About  the  middle  of  April,  1862,  I  was  detailed  with  three 
cadets  to  go  to  Huntsville  to  assist  in  drilling  some  new  troops 
which  were  being  collected  in  a  camp  of  instruction  under  the 
direction  of  Ex-Governor  Moore.  We  had  proceeded  on  our 
way  till  we  were  within  a  few  miles  of  Blountsville,  when  I 
was  informed  that  the  Federal  General  Ormsby  Mitchell  had 
occupied  the  portion  of  the  State  lying  north  of  the  Tennessee 
River  and  that  his  men  were  coming  south  toward  Blounts- 
ville. I  turned  aside  to  a  residence  near  the  road  to  make  some 
inquiries  before  I  decided  whether  it  would  be  best  for  me  to 
go  on  or  turn  back  to  the  University.  I  found  a  lady  and  some 
children  in  the  house.  I  did  not  know  whether  we  would  find 
sympathy  or  not,  as  Xorth  Alabama  was  very  much  divided  in 
regard  to  the  war.  I  approached  the  subject  cautiously  till  I 
found  on  which  side  the  lady's  sympathies  lay.  When  I  learned 
that  her  husband  was  in  the  Confederate  army,  I  stated  my 
mission ;  and  she  told  me  that  she  had  heard  that  the  "Yan- 
kees" were  coming  into  Blountsville,  if  they  were  not  already 
there.  I  asked  her  to  lend  me  a  suit  of  her  husband's  citi- 
zen clothes  and  a  slouch  hat.  I  left  the  three  cadets  and  the 
hack;  and,  dressed  in  these  clothes,  I  rode  one  of  the  horses 
into  Blountsville  looking,  I  suppose,  somewhat  like  a  farmer. 


REMINISCENCES.  159 

I  found  that  the  town  was  full  of  men  and  that  they  were 
Southern  men.  On  inquiring  for  some  of  the  officers  I  found 
that  Governor  Moore  had  dismissed  the  men  from  the  camp  of 
instruction  in  Huntsville  to  assemble  in  Gadsden. 

I  went  back  to  the  place  where  I  had  left  the  cadets  and 
early  next  morning  started  for  Gadsden,  about  forty  miles  dis- 
tant, over  a  narrow,  rough  road  across  the  lower  end  of  Sand 
Mountain.  We  reached  Gadsden  early  the  following  day  and 
sent  the  hack  back  to  Tuscaloosa.  This  was  delayed  several 
days  on  account  of  bad  roads  and  high  waters.  Dr.  Gar- 
land was  very  much  relieved  on  the  safe  return  of  the  hack, 
with  a  letter  from  me  explaining  the  situation.  He  had  heard 
of  the  approach  of  the  Federals  after  we  had  left  Tuscaloosa 
and  was  uneasy  lest  we  might  be  captured.  When  he  read  my 
letter  he  said :  "I  did  not  believe  Massey  would  run  into  a  trap." 

While  we  were  waiting  in  Gadsden  for  the  assembling  of 
the  men  I  had  an  opportunity  of  looking  over  the  romantic 
country  where  Gadsden,  then  an  insignificant  little  village, 
now  quite  a  city,  is  located.  I  visited  Black  Creek  Falls,  where 
Emma  Sansom,  a  girl  in  her  teens,  in  the  spring  of  1863  distin- 
guished herself  by  mounting  behind  General  Forrest  and  con- 
ducting him  to  a  ford  across  the  creek  in  his  pursuit  of  General 
Streight,  whom  he  soon  afterwards  captured. 

As  soon  as  the  troops  assembled,  Governor  Moore  had  us 
all  transported  on  a  little  steamboat  up  the  Coosa  River  to 
Rome,  Georgia,  and  thence  by  rail  via  Atlanta  to  Auburn,  Ala- 
bama, where  we  drilled  the  troops  on  the  campus  in  front  of 
the  college  building,  a  place  which  has  been  the  scene  of  many 
feats  in  military  tactics  during  the  last  forty  years. 

All  of  the  officers  and  cadets  who  had  been  drilling  troops 
in  different  parts  of  the  State  were  ordered  back  to  the  Uni- 
versity about  the  middle  of  May.  Before  going  on  this  expedi- 
tion I  had  finished  my  studies,  except  some  reviews  and  exami- 
nations. These  were  completed  in  the  next  month. 

It  was  now  incumbent  on  me  to  decide  what  I  should  do. 
Dr.  Garland  offered  me  a  position  in  the  University  as  Assistant 
Professor  and  Instructor  of  Military  Tactics.  This  was  a  use- 


i6o  REMINISCENCES. 

ful  and  honorable  position  that  any  young  man  might  justly 
covet.  I  was  reluctant  to  decline  it,  not  only  on  account  of  its 
desirability,  but  also  on  account  of  my  great  respect  for  the 
Doctor,  who  urged  me  by  every  reasonable  consideration  to 
remain  at  the  University  ;  but  so  much  had  I  become  fascinated 
with  the  glamour  of  military  glory  and  so  much  had  my  blood 
been  fired  by  the  war  spirit  with  which  public  sentiment  was 
surcharged  that  I  could  not  get  my  consent  to  remain  in  what 
seemed  to  be  a  bombproof  position  while  duty  was  calling  me 
to  the  front.  This  was  the  reasoning  of  an  excited  mind  tinc- 
tured with  some  desire  for  adventure. 

I  stated  my  feelings  to  the  Doctor  and  added  that  I  was 
young  and  in  good  health  ;  that  I  had  no  one  dependent  on  me ; 
that  if  any  of  our  citizens  ought  to  go  to  the  front  to  defend 
the  country  I  thought  such  as  I  should  render  this  service ;  and 
that,  in  view  of  these  considerations,  I  had  decided  to  go  into 
the  army.  I  shall  never  forget  the  pleasant  smile  that  played 
over  his  face  and  the  gleam  that  sparkled  in  his  eyes  as  he  said, 
"If  I  were  young,  I  would  do  the  same  thing,"  and  added: 
"Write  me  when  you  wish  to  come  back."  I  kept  up  some  cor- 
respondence with  him  and  his  family.  He  inquired  three  dif- 
ferent times  in  the  next  two  years  if  I  would  consent  to  return 
to  the  University.  '  He  said  that  President  Davis  wished  to 
keep  it  well  manned  and  had  informed  him  that  he  would 
transfer  from  the  army  any  officer  he  might  name.  In  one 
of  these  letters  was  the  prayer  that  my  head  might  "be  cov- 
ered in  the  day  of  battle."  This  touched  my  heart,  for  I  knew 
that  it  was  a  sincere  prayer. 

While  I  was  debating  the  question  as  to  whether  I  should 
remain  at  the  University  or  go  into  the  army,  I  wrote  to  my 
friend  Colonel  Yates  and  asked  him  if  he  was  willing  for  me 
to  go  into  the  army  while  I  was  in  debt  to  him.  He  replied 
promptly :  "Go  ahead.  I  am  going  myself." 

MY  CLASSMATES. 

I  did  not  remain  for  the  commencement  exercises.  I  did 
not  see  myself  graduate.  I  never  knew  what  my  standing  for 


REMINISCENCES.  161 

this  year  was.  Only  five  out  of  a  class  of  forty-two  that  en- 
tered the  sophomore  class  in  1859  were  graduated  at  the  com- 
mencement of  1862.  Here  is  the  alphabetical  list  of  their 
names:  John  H.  Chambers,  Clarence  H.  Ellerbe,  John  Drish 
King,  John  Massey,  and  Eugene  Allen  Smith.  Some  of  those 
who  started  in  1859  dropped  out  at  the  end  of  the  year  1859- 
60.  Some  went  into  the  army  in  1861.  Many  more  went 
early  in  1862,  before  completing  the  courses  of  study  required 
for  graduation.  Of  these  five  who  were  graduated,  Chambers 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Nashville,  December  16,  1864;  El- 
lerbe was  killed  in  the  battle  at  Bentonville,  North  Carolina, 
the  last  battle  fought  between  Johnston  and  Sherman,  March 
1 8,  1865.  I  have  lost  sight  of  King.  Massey  is  the  writer  of 
these  reminiscences.  Smith  served  for  a  while  in  Bragg's 
army  and  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Perryville,  Kentucky, 
October  8,  1862.  After  several  months'  service,  he  was,  by 
request  of  Dr.  Garland,  transferred  from  the  army  to  the 
University  and  served  as  Assistant  Professor  and  Instructor  of 
Military  Tactics  till  the  institution  was  suspended,  in  April, 
1865.  ' 

After  the  close  of  the  war,  he  went  to  Germany  and  studied 
three  years,  taking  his  degree  of  Ph.D.  at  Heidelberg  in  1868. 
On  returning  to  the  United  States  he  was  for  several  years 
Professor  of  Chemistry  and  Geology  in  the  University  of  Mis- 
sissippi. He  has  been  for  more  than  thirty  years  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Geology  in  the  University  of  Alabama  and 
State  Geologist.  For  more  than  fifty  years  there  has  been  a 
cordial  friendship  between  us,  originating  in  the  close  ties  of 
the  classroom,  strengthened  by  the  comradeship  of  the  war, 
and  kept  vivid  by  kindred  occupations  and  by  congenial  asso- 
ciation with  his  father's  family. 

Dr.  Smith  is  one  of  the  brightest  men  with  whom  I  have 
ever  been  associated.  It  used  to  be  a  marvel  to  me  how  quickly 
he  could  get  the  hardest  lessons.  Lessons  that  I  had  to  toil 
over  for  hours  seemed  to  come  to  him  without  effort.  Along 
with  this  brilliancy  he  possessed  a  wonderful  capacity  for  work, 
a  combination  that  brings  forth  praiseworthy  results  when  ex- 
ii 


1 62  REMINISCENCES. 

ercised  in  noble  pursuits.  These  qualities  have  made  him  a 
scientist  of  national  reputation.  He  is  now  (1913)  President 
of  the  Geological  Society  of  America.  His  geological  reports 
are  noted  for  their  thoroughness,  accuracy,  and  lucidity.  There 
is  hardly  an  acre  of  land  in  the  State  that  he  has  not  gone  over 
in  his  geological  surveys.  He  has  not  only  collected  geological 
specimens  from  every  quarter,  but  he  has  collected  a  large  and 
well-selected  library  with  whose  contents  he  is  familiar.  To 
these  accomplishments,  scientific  and  literary,  I  should  add  his 
aesthetic  culture.  He  is  a  man  of  fine  musical  taste  and  is  a 
good  performer  on  the  violin.  But  the  quality  that  endears 
him  most  to  those  who  know  him  best  is  his  capacity  to  form 
deep  and  lasting  friendships  and  to  cherish  warm  and  tender 
sympathy  for  all  living  beings,  even  those  in  the  animal  king- 
dom. He  cannot  bear  to  witness  suffering  in  any  sentient 
thing.  The  sentiment  of  the  poet, 

"Take  not  in  sport  that  life  you  cannot  give, 
For  all  things  have  an  equal  right  to  live," 

has  an  abiding  place  in  Dr.  Smith's  heart. 

"He  prayeth  well  who  loveth  well 

Both  man  and  bird  and  beast; 
He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 

All  things  both  great  and  small; 
For  the  dear  God,  who  loveth  us, 

Hath  made  and  loveth  all." 

Most  of  the  Alabama  Corps  of  Cadets  were  too  young  to 
achieve  distinction  above  the  lower  ranks  of  officers,  yet  many 
became  distinguished  in  spite  of  their  youth.  If  the  war  had 
continued  a  few  years  longer,  I  have  no  doubt  that  many  more 
would  have  risen  to  high  rank. 

John  C.  C.  Sanders,  who  was  a  junior  in  my  sophomore 
year,  went  out  with  the  Eleventh  Alabama,  rose  to  the  colonel- 
cy of  his  regiment,  was  distinguished  for  gallantry  at  Spotsyl- 
vania,  and  was  commissioned  brigadier  general  May  31,  1864. 
In  one  of  the  later  engagements  he  was  killed. 

Lucius  Pinckard,  one  of  my  classmates,  entered  the  Univer- 
sity from  Tuskegee.  He  was  not  noted  so  much  for  good 


REMINISCENCES.  163 

scholarship  as  he  was  for  manliness  and  military  talent.  He 
entered  the  army  among  the  first  of  the  cadets,  was  distin- 
guished for  gallantry,  and  was  promoted  to  the  colonelcy  of 
his  regiment.  After  the  war  he  resided  many  years  in  his  old 
home  in  Tuskegee.  Like  General  Grant  and  some  others,  he 
was  more  successful  in  the  arts  of  war  than  he  was  in  the  busi- 
ness of  civil  life.  I  have  a  pleasant  recollection  of  three  of  his 
daughters  who  were  pupils  of  mine  for  a  number  of  years.  He 
died  in  Atlanta  some  years  ago,  whither  he  had  moved  about 
the  year  1898. 

I  believe  that  no  institution  furnished  more  men  for  the 
army  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  students  than  the  Univer- 
sity of  Alabama,  and  no  institution  in  the  whole  country  paid 
so  heavy  a  toll  for  its  patriotism. 

COPY  OF  INSCRIPTION  ON  BOWLDER,  UNIVERSITY  OF 
ALABAMA. 

1861-1865. 

THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  ALABAMA  GAVE  TO  THE  CONFEDERACY  7 
GENERAL  OFFICERS,  25  COLONELS,  14  LIEUTENANT  COLONELS,  21  MA- 
JORS, 125  CAPTAINS,  66  NONCOMMISSIONED  OFFICERS,  AND  294  PRI- 
VATE SOLDIERS.  RECOGNIZING  OBEDIENCE  TO  THE  STATE,  THEY  LOY- 
ALLY AND  UNCOMPLAININGLY  MET  THE  CALL  OF  DUTY,  IN  NUMBER- 
LESS INSTANCES  SEALING  THEIR  DEVOTION  BY  THEIR  LIFEBLOOD.  AND 
ON  APRIL  3,  1865,  THE  CADET  CORPS,  COMPOSED  WHOLLY  OF  BOYS, 
WENT  BRAVELY  FORTH  TO  REPEL  A  VETERAN  FEDERAL  INVADING 
FOE  OF  MANY  TIMES  THEIR  NUMBER  IN  A  VAIN  EFFORT  TO  SAVE 
THEIR  ALMA  MATER,  ITS  BUILDINGS,  LIBRARY,  AND  LABORATORIES, 
FROM  DESTRUCTION  BY  FIRE,  WHICH  IT  MET  AT  THE  HANDS  OF 
THE  ENEMY  ON  THE  DAY  FOLLOWING. 

To  COMMEMORATE  THIS  HEROIC  RECORD  THIS  MEMORIAL  STONE 
IS  ERECTED  BY  THE  ALABAMA  DIVISION,  UNITED  DAUGHTERS  OF 
THE  CONFEDERACY. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ALABAMA, 
MAY  13,  1914. 

Upon  the  invitation  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Confederacy,  I 
had  the  honor  of  making  one  of  the  addresses  on  the  dedication 
of  this  bowlder. 

After  this  digression,  we  will  go  back  to  some  account  of  my 
life  in  the  army. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Going  into  the  Army — Colonel  Henry  W.  Milliard — Milliard's  Legion — 
Mrs.  Mary  L.  Parker  Thorington — Colonel  J.  Thorington — Legion  Sent 
to  Chattanooga,  Knoxville,  and  Cumberland  Gap — Experiences  at  Cum- 
berland Gap — Excursion  into  Kentucky — Retreat  from  Kentucky — At 
Big  Creek  Gap  during  the  Winter  of  1862-63 — Gracie's  Brigade  Formed. 

TTILLIARD'S  LEGION  (afterwards  called  Alabama  Le- 
•*•  •*•  gion)  was  organized  in  Montgomery  during  the  latter 
part  of  June,  1862.  It  was  composed,  in  the  main,  of  mature 
and  substantial  citizens  of  Central  and  Eastern  Alabama.  The 
commands  that  had  gone  into  the  field  in  the  early  stages  of 
the  war  were  largely  drawn  from  the  younger  and  more  excit- 
able classes.  The  men  of  the  Legion  were  generally  men  of 
families,  clean  moral  men,  many  of  them  sincerely  religious. 
They  were  going  into  the  war,  not  for  the  glory  of  it,  but  from 
a  sense  of  patriotic  duty,  which  they  performed  faithfully,  as 
the  record  they  made  plainly  shows.  Henry  W.  Hilliard,  com- 
mander of  the  Legion,  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  a  grad- 
uate of  South  Carolina  College,  had  been  Professor  of  English 
Literature  in  the  University  of  Alabama  from  its  organization 
in  1831  to  1834,  was  a  local  Methodist  preacher,  a  lawyer  by 
profession,  Minister  to  Belgium  from  1842  to  1844,  Congress- 
man from  1845  to  1851,  was  a  facile  writer,  and  was  the  peer 
of  W.  L.  Yancey  on  the  stump.  A  man  o>f  such  variety  of 
talents  and  so  extensive  acquaintance  with  the  people  could 
easily  raise  a  legion  of  soldiers.  He  was  originally  opposed  to 
secession,  but  was  now  as  ready  to  repel  invasion  as  was  Mr. 
Yancey;  and  he  did  take  a  more  active  part  in  the  field  than 
Mr.  Yancey,  who  was  sent  as  commissioner  to  England  early 
in  the  war.  Mr.  Hilliard  was  very  naturally  placed  in  com- 
mand of  the  Legion,  which  for  the  first  year  was  called  Hil- 
liard's  Legion.  But  military  genius  was  not  one  of  the  bril- 
liant parts  in  the  make-up  of  this  many-sided  man.  He  ap- 
peared to  much  better  advantage  in  the  court  room,  on  the 
(164) 


REMINISCENCES.  165 

hustings,  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  and  in  the  courts  of  kings 
than  he  did  in  the  role  of  a  soldier  on  the  tented  field. 

The  Legion,  as  originally  planned,  consisted  of  four  infantry 
battalions,  one  cavalry  battalion,  and  a  battery  of  artillery. 
The  cavalry  and  artillery  were  soon  detached  from  the  Legion 
and  will  not  be  further  noticed  in  these  reminiscences. 

The  infantry  of  the  Legion  was  organized  as  follows :  Colo- 
nel Henry  W.  Milliard,  Commander;  Captain  Preston  Hil- 
liard,  Adjutant  General;  Captain  W.  H.  Fowler,  Quartermas- 
ter; Captain  Somerville,  Commissary;  Dr.  Camillus  Hilliard, 
Surgeon;  Dr.  H.  P.  Spangler,  Chaplain. 

First  Battalion.  —  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jack  Thorington, 
Commander;  Major  John  H.  Holt,  Major;  Lieutenant  John 
Massey,  Adjutant;  Dr.  Conrad  Wall,  Surgeon. 

Second  Battalion. — Lieutenant  Colonel  Boiling  Hall,  Com- 
mander; Major  W.  Stubblefield,  Major;  Lieutenant  C.  Hall, 
Adjutant ;  Dr.  J.  B.  Luckie,  Surgeon. 

Third  Battalion. — Lieutenant  Colonel  John  W.  A.  Sanford, 
Commander;  Major  Hatch  Cook,  Major. 

Fourth  Battalion. — Major  W.  N.  Reeves,  Commander. 

The  other  officers  I  do  not  remember. 

The  First  Battalion  was  composed  of  seven  companies,  as 
follows:  Company  A,  Captain  Daniel  S.  Troy,  Commander; 
Company  B,  Captain  Ridgeway,  Commander;  Company  C, 
Captain  George  W.  Huguley,  Commander;  Company  D,  Cap- 
tain R.  N.  Moore,  Commander;  Company  E,  Captain  J.  W. 
L.  Daniel,  Commander;  Company  F,  Captain  N.  Stallworth, 
Commander;  Company  G,  Captain  W.  A.  Middleton,  Com- 
mander. 

About  the  time  the  Legion  was  organized  Colonel  Thoring- 
ton wrote  to  Dr.  Garland  requesting  him  to  recommend  a 
young  man  for  the  adjutancy  of  the  First  Battalion.  The  Doc- 
tor recommended  me  in  very  complimentary  terms,  as  I  was 
informed  by  parties  who  saw  the  letter.  The  necessity  for  my 
joining  the  Legion  at  once  was  the  cause  of  my  absence  from 
the  commencement  at  which  I  was  graduated. 


166  REMINISCENCES. 

MRS.  MARY  LORD  (PARKER)  THORINGTON. 
I  reached  Montgomery  about  the  25th  of  June  and  was 
most  kindly  entertained  in  the  home  of  Colonel  Thorington  as 
long  as  the  Legion  remained  in  the  city.  Mrs.  Thorington  (nee 
Mary  Lord  Parker)  was  a  gracious  and  charming  lady,  born 
in  Troy,  New  York,  in  1817,  but  was  in  full  sympathy  with 
the  South.  She  showed  me  every  possible  courtesy  while  I 
remained  in  her  home.  It  gave  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  make 
some  return  for  this  kindness  in  the  education  oi  two  of  her 
granddaughters,  Misses  Mary  Ella  and  Nonie  Thorington, 
many  years  after  the  war.  These  are  daughters  of  the  late 
Judge  W.  S.  Thorington,  who  read  and  passed  favorable  com- 
ment on  these  notes. 

COLONEL  JACK  THORINGTON. 

Owing  to  my  military  training  in  the  Alabama  Corps  of 
Cadets  and  much  practice  in  various  camps  of  instruction,  it 
fell  to  my  lot  to  drill  the  battalion,  which  was  camped  in  some 
open  fields  outside  of  the  city  in  the  locality  which  Cloverdale 
now  covers  with  its  fine  residences.  I  spent  the  days  in  camp 
and  the  nights  at  Colonel  Thorington's.  As  I  wish  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  many  kindnesses  received  at  his  hands, 
I  shall  anticipate  in  the  chronological  order  of  my  story  to 
give  my  estimate  of  him. 

He  was  born  in  the  north  of  Ireland  in  1810  and  was  a  man 
of  fine  intelligence  and  commanding  personal  dignity.  He 
possessed  a  vein  of  humor  characteristic  of  his  nationality.  He 
was  a  man  of  undaunted  courage.  If  duty  called  for  the  sac- 
rifice, he  would  do  what  so  many  "sons  of  Erin"  have  done  in 
every  land  to  which  they  have  gone :  he  would  give  his  life  for 
the  honor  of  his  adopted  country.  He  remained  with  the  Le- 
gion nearly  a  year  after  Colonel  Hilliard  retired.  Indeed,  he 
remained  till  failing  health  rendered  it  impossible  for  him  to  be 
of  service  in  the  field.  On  retiring  he  bade  the  Legion  an  af- 
fectionate farewell,  manifesting  a  deep  interest  in  the  men  he 
had  led  to  the  front.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  collapse  of  the 
cause  they  loved  so  well  hastened  the  death  of  Colonel  Thor- 


REMINISCENCES.  167 

ington  and  many  other  patriotic  men  of  the  South.  Among 
the  good  Irish  friends  I  have  had  during  my  life,  I  gratefully 
place  Colonel  Jack  Thorington. 

The  military  drill  went  assiduously  on  while  we  remained  in 
Montgomery.  Orders  came  for  us  to  move  to  the  front  on  the 
8th  of  July.  Besides  the  organization  of  the  Legion  into  bat- 
talions and  companies,  the  officers  and  men  must  now  arrange 
themselves  into  "messes"  for  their  sleeping  and  cooking.  I 
was  solicited  by  Dr.  Conrad  Wall,  the  surgeon,  and  Mr.  W. 
H.  Micou,  the  ordnance  sergeant,  to  mess  with  them.  So  they 
became  my  regular  messmates  as  long  as  I  remained  with  the 
Legion.  Mr.  Micou  had  brought  with  him  a  colored  boy  by  the 
name  of  Lem,  who  was  a  good  forager,  a  fine  cook,  and,  as 
the  sequel  will  show,  a  faithful  servant.  We  were  all  young 
men  and  were  very  congenial.  They  were  gentlemen  of  the 
old  Southern  stamp,  than  which  there  has  never  been  a  higher 
type  in  any  civilization.  They  were  my  friends  to  the  end  of 
their  lives.  In  the  years  long  after  the  war  I  had  the  pleasure 
and  the  honor  of  educating  five  of  Dr.  Wall's  daughters  and 
one  of  Mr.  Micou's — all  they  had. 

LEGION  SENT  TO  CHATTANOOGA,  KNOXVILLE,  AND  CUMBER- 
LAND GAP. 

When  we  left  Montgomery  on  the  8th  of  July,  we  did  not 
know  where  we  were  going.  We  rather  thought  we  were  go- 
ing to  Virginia,  as  that  was  then  the  most  active  field  of  oper- 
ations. We  stopped  in  Atlanta  a  short  time  awaiting  orders 
and  spent  the  time  in  drilling.  When  our  orders  came,  it  was 
not  to  Virginia,  but  to  Chattanooga,  that  we  had  to  go.  We 
remained  about  three  weeks,  while  we  were  being  armed  and 
more  thoroughly  drilled.  Here  I  had  the  opportunity  of  view- 
ing for  the  first  time  this  most  picturesque  country,  from  whose 
mountain  observatory  three  States — Tennessee,  Alabama,  and 
Georgia — can  be  distinctly  seen ;  some  say  four  others — North 
Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Virginia,  and  Kentucky — but  I  never 
could  be  sure  of  the  last  four.  On  a  clear  day  the  prospect 
from  Lookout  Point  is  magnificent,  inspiring  the  emotion  of 


1 68  REMINISCENCES. 

sublimity  with  its  billowy  mountain  ranges  one  after  another 
like  vast  waves  of  the  sea  caught  up  and  held  in  a  state  of  fix- 
ity by  some  invisible,  omnipotent  Power ;  while  the  crystal  river, 
glistening  in  its  silvery  sheen,  winds  its  huge  serpentine  folds 
through  these  vast  piles  of  granite. 

While  in  Chattanooga  I  had  a  narrow  escape  from  the  fall 
of  a  horse.  Colonel  Thorington  owned  a  fine  young  horse  that 
had  been  trained  for  the  race  track.  The  Colonel  ordered  me 
to  ride  his  horse  to  General  McCown's  headquarters  to  deliver 
a  message.  On  my  way  I  had  to  pass  the  railroad  engine 
house.  While  the  horse  was  not  vicious,  he  was  mortally 
afraid  of  a  locomotive.  An  engine  was  just  emerging  from 
the  house  a  few  yards  ahead  of  me.  Knowing  the  horse's 
dread  of  an  engine,  I  snatched  up  the  reins  quickly  as  he  turned 
to  run.  The  hooked  bit  caught  in  the  martingale  ring  and  held 
his  chin  fastened  to  his  breast.  He  continued  to  rear  up  till 
he  began  to  fall  straight  backward.  I  kicked  the  stirrups  from 
my  feet  and  threw  myself  to  one  side  to  keep  him  from  falling 
on  me.  He  fell  on  his  back,  and  I  fell  close  by  his  side.  Wre 
both  rose  at  the  same  time.  I  caught  the  bridle  and  remounted. 
The  fall  seemed  to  steady  his  nerves,  as  I  had  no  further  trou- 
ble with  him. 

EXPERIENCES  AT  CUMBERLAND  GAP. 

Early  in  August  the  Legion  was  moved  from  Chattanooga  to 
Knoxville  and  in  a  short  time  was  moved  again  from  Knoxville 
to  Tazewell,  Tennessee,  a  distance  of  forty-one  miles.  This 
was  the  first  long  march  we  had  made  up  to  this  time.  At  the 
end  of  this  two  days'  march  over  a  rocky  road,  with  blistered 
feet  and  weary  limbs,  we  welcomed  a  few  days'  rest.  After 
ten  days  at  Tazewell,  we  joined  General  C.  L.  Stevenson,  who 
was  investing  Cumberland  Gap,  held  by  the  Federal  General 
George  W.  Morgan.  The  Confederate  line  was  about  five 
miles  from  the  Gap.  During  this  investment  the  enemy  fre- 
quently shelled  us  from  their  batteries  on  the  mountain  peaks. 
These  shells  sometimes  exploded  over  our  heads,  but  often 
went  beyond  our  lines.  This  was  our  first  opportunity  to  be- 


REMINISCENCES.  169 

come  acquainted  with  the  peculiarly  vicious  sound  of  shells 
passing  through  the  air.  There  was  something  romantic  and 
inspiring  in  the  reverberations  of  these  bellowing  sounds 
through  the  mountain  fastnesses,  coupled  with  the  grandeur  of 
the  scenery,  spiced  with  just  enough  danger  to  take  life  out  of 
the  commonplace. 

During  one  of  the  days  of  this  siege  I  experienced  my  first 
and  last  arrest.  Interested  in  the  splendid  views  and  the  nov- 
elty of  the  situation,  I  unwittingly  wandered  beyond  our  lines, 
when  I  was  halted  by  a  picket  from  a  hilltop  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  distant.  With  his  gun  ready  for  use,  he  ordered 
me  to  come  to  him.  There  was  nothing  left  me  but  to  obey. 
On  approaching  him  he  told  me  that  I  was  over  the  picket  line 
and  that  he  had  orders  to  arrest  or  shoot  everybody  who  went 
over  the  line.  I  told  him  that  I  did  not  know  I  was  over  the 
line  and  that  I  was  an  officer  in  Milliard's  Legion  and  was 
walking  out  for  recreation.  He  said  that  he  would  have  to 
take  me  to  headquarters,  whoever  I  might  be.  Somewhat  em- 
barrassed, but  knowing  that  I  was  neither  a  deserter  nor  moved 
by  any  evil  intent,  I  told  him  that  I  would  go  with  him.  He 
marched  me  to  his  headquarters  and  told  the  officer  in  charge 
that  here  was  a  man  he  had  arrested  over  the  lines.  The  offi- 
cer said  that  he  would  have  to  see  the  colonel  about  it.  The 
colonel  questioned  me  closely  as  to  who  I  was  and  what  I  was 
doing  over  the  picket  line.  I  told  him  that  I  was  an  officer  in 
Hilliard's  Legion,  which  had  recently  come,  and  I  did  not 
know  that  I  was  over  the  line.  He  said  that  he  would  have  to 
put  me  under  guard  till  he  found  out  the  state  of  the  case.  I 
happened  to  have  in  my  pocket  a  small  memorandum  book  and 
a  letter  which  might  identify  me.  I  showed  him  these  and 
asked  him  to  send  a  guard  with  me  to  my  own  headquarters. 
His  stern  features  finally  relaxed  into  a  smile  at  my  dilemma 
as  I  went  off  with  the  guard  to  my  headquarters.  When  I 
stated  the  case  to  Major  Holt,  he  broke  out  into  a  hearty  laugh 
because  his  adjutant  had  to  be  brought  into  camp  under  arrest. 
The  boys  thought  it  very  funny.  They  enjoyed  it  more  than 
I  did. 


170  REMINISCENCES. 

The  Federals  evacuated  the  Gap  on  the  I7th  of  September, 
and  we  occupied  it  on  the  next  day.  The  First  Battalion 
reached  the  basin  at  the  foot  of  the  Gap  late  in  the  afternoon. 
As  the  evening  shades  were  settling  down  on  the  mountains 
we  were  ordered  to  ascend  the  left-hand,  or  southern,  peak  by 
a  winding  road  which  began  at  the  highest  point  in  the  Gap 
between  the  two  peaks.  I  think  it  must  have  been  ten  o'clock 
when  wre  reached  the  level  on  the  summit  of  the  mountain. 
Here  we  found  a  few  cabins  which  had  been  occupied  by 
the  Federals.  A  cold,  cutting  wind  was  coming  from  the  north 
with  all  the  iciness  of  winter.  We  warmed  ourselves  as  well  as 
we  could  by  some  fires  which  we  kindled  out  of  such  light  tim- 
bers as  we  could  find.  The  wind  hardly  permitted  these  to  re- 
main together  long  enough  to  burn.  After  our  cold  rations 
were  dispatched,  we  lay  down  to  a  night's  repose  under  the 
sharp  blasts  of  old  Boreas.  I  do  not  think  my  slumbers  were 
at  all  disturbed.  I  could  sleep  soundly  even  on  the  ground 
with  little  or  no  cover.  So  much  for  good  health  and  being 
inured  to  hard  conditions.  When  we  awoke  in  the  morning, 
a  dense  fog  covered  everything,  so  that  we  could  not  see  a  man 
fifty  steps  away.  As  the  sun  rose,  the  fog  began  to  clear  away 
from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  leaving  a  solid-looking  bank  on 
a  level  with  the  peak  on  which  we  stood.  As  the  sun  ad- 
vanced, great  chasms  began  to  appear  in  the  banks  of  fog.  In 
the  course  of  an  hour  the  rough  and  craggy  mountain  side  and 
the  yawning  valleys  became  visible  several  thousand  feet  below. 
I  have  never  witnessed  a  grander  sight.  It  was  enough  to  make 
us  feel  dizzy.  It  is  perfectly  vivid  to  my  mind,  though  seen 
through  the  stretch  of  more  than  a  half  century.  On  the  next 
day  we  moved  down  and  pitched  our  tents  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain  near  the  highest  part  of  the  Gap. 

During  the  few  days  that  we  spent  there  I  had  the  arduously 
gained  pleasure  of  climbing  to  the  summit  of  the  northern  peak. 
I  stood  on  a  crag  and  looked  down  into  the  basin  upon  the  men, 
who  resembled  ants  passing  along  the  road.  I  could  see  in 
the  distance  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  North  Carolina,  with  num- 
berless undulations  of  the  Appalachians  lying  between  the 


REMINISCENCES.  171 

Blue  Ridge  and  the  Cumberland  Range.  Turning  to  the  west, 
the  view  stretched  away  to  the  Cumberland  River,  winding  its 
way  along  Pine  Mountain,  in  Kentucky.  The  person  whose 
life  has  always  been  on  the  plains  has  missed  much  of  the  ex- 
hilaration of  which  life  is  susceptible. 

On  another  day  during  this  sojourn  at  the  Gap  I  went  into 
a  large  cavern  down  on  the  side  of  the  mountain.  This  cavern 
is  capacious  enough  to  contain  several  large  houses  and  so  deep 
that  stones  thrown  into  some  portions  of  it  returned  a  dismal 
rumble,  indicating  considerable  depth.  The  part  of  the  cavern 
made  visible  by  our  candles  is  studded  with  stalactites  and  sta- 
lagmites, formed  by  the  dripping  of  water  highly  charged  with 
carbonate  of  lime,  formations  more  interesting  to  the  geologist 
than  to  the  soldier.  From  this  cavern  gushes  a  stream  that  was 
turning  a  mill,  a  prominent  feature  of  the  Gap  fifty  years  ago. 

On  another  afternoon  I  was  sauntering  leisurely  along  the 
side  of  the  mountain  above  the  basin  when  suddenly  I  saw  a 
great  volume  of  smoke  and  debris  spouting  up  from  the  covered 
embrasure  of  a  fortification  which  the  Federals  had  left  filled 
with  shells  and  ammunition.  This  was  followed  by  a  thunder- 
ing noise,  as  if  a  whole  battery  of  artillery  were  fired  at  once. 
In  a  second  I  saw  the  blazing  and  bleeding  figure  of  a  man 
scrambling  out  of  the  embrasure.  I  ran  as  fast  as  possible  to 
the  wounded  man.  Soon  others  came.  His  clothes  were  all 
aflame.  We  pulled  him  as  quickly  as  we  could  to  a  spring 
branch  near  by  to  extinguish  the  flames.  So  badly  parched 
was  he  that  his  skin  peeled  off  as  we  handled  him.  As  soon 
as  we  got  the  flames  extinguished  he  said :  "There  are  two 
more  poor  fellows  back  in  there."  These  we  found  and  pulled 
out.  Surgeons  were  summoned,  and  the  men  were  cared  for; 
but  they  were  so  badly  bruised  and  burned  bv  the  bursting- 

J  J  j  o 

shells  that  they  died  that  night.  They  had  been  detailed  to 
guard  the  ammunition  in  the  fortification.  One  of  them 
dropped  his  bayonet  on  the  rock  on  which  some  powder  had 
been  scattered.  The  steel  bayonet  struck  fire  on  the  rock  and 
blew  up  the  magazine.  The  Federals  had  kept  at  the  Gap  large 


172  REMINISCENCES. 

quantities  of  ammunition  and  guns  to  supply  the  Unionists 
with.  They  had  removed  some,  but  had  missed  this  magazine. 
As  soon  as  I  could  I  went  to  a  branch,  stripped  myself,  and 
tried  to  wash  out  the  odor  of  the  parched  skin  of  my  unfortu- 
nate fellow  soldier.  I  was  solemnly  impressed  with  the  horrors 
of  war,  whose  object  is  to  destroy  the  lives  of  enemies ;  but  it 
sometimes  destroys  the  lives  of  friends  as  well. 

EXCURSION  INTO  KENTUCKY. 

During  the  last  day  of  September  and  the  first  day  of  Octo- 
ber all  the  Army  of  East  Tennessee,  under  General  McCown, 
passed  through  the  Gap  to  join  General  Bragg  in  his  campaign 
through  Kentucky.  The  Legion  left  the  Gap  on  the  2d  of  Oc- 
tober and  brought  up  the  rear  of  the  army.  We  crossed  the 
Cumberland  River  a  little  above  Pineville,  going  some  miles 
down  the  right  bank  of  the  river  to  Barboursville  and  then 
northwest  to  London.  This  is  a  very  romantic  country  of 
rough,  rocky  roads  for  an  army  to  pass  over.  These  mountain- 
eers were  generally  Union  sympathizers  in  1862.  We  hardly 
ever  saw  a  man ;  but  the  women,  as  we  passed  them,  would 
scowl  at  us  and  sometimes  enter  into  railing  accusations  against 
us  as  vile  rebels  and  wicked  intruders  on  their  peace  and  quie- 
tude. After  we  passed  London,  we  struck  a  refined  population, 
among  whom  we  found  more  sympathy.  The  handsome  faces 
of  women  wreathed  in  smiles  and  their  salutations — waving 
shawls  and  handkerchiefs — w^ere  in  striking  contrast  to  the 
scowling  countenances  and  taunting  epithets  of  their  moun- 
taineer sisters.  Such  a  contrast  do  sympathy  and  hate  make  in 
their  manifestations. 

As  we  proceeded  toward  Richmond,  Kentucky,  we  had 
smooth,  macadamized  roads  to  pass  over.  Wrhen  we  had  ad- 
vanced to  some  point  southwest  of  Lexington,  there  were  ru- 
mors of  battle  and  distant  cannonading.  One  night  our  wag- 
ons and  horses  were  sent  to  the  rear,  and  we  were  ordered  to 
"fall  into  line"  and  get  ready  for  battle.  Mr.  Micou  had  or- 
dered his  servant  Lem  to  go  back  with  the  wagons.  Lem  told 
his  master  that  he  wanted  to  go  with  him.  Mr.  Micou  gave 


REMINISCENCES.  173 

him  positive  orders  the  second  time.  Lem  still  remained  with 
the  line.  Mr.  Micou  became  more  positive  and  almost  harsh 
in  his  command,  with  some  threats  if  his  order  was  not  obeyed. 
Lem  burst  into  tears  and  said :  "Marse  Billy,  you  know  Ole 
Miss  made  me  promise  to  stay  with  you  and  take  care  of  you 
when  we  went  into  battle.  Marse  Billy,  you  may  beat  me,  but 
I  am  not  going  to  leave  you  while  I  am  alive."  I  did  not  see 
more  true  and  heroic  devotion  during  the  war  than  Lem's  de- 
votion to  his  master.  There  was  no  battle  of  any  consequence. 
The  battle  of  Perryville  had  been  fought  on  the  8th,  and  Gen- 
eral Bragg  was  maneuvering  to  make  his  retreat  into  East 
Tennessee. 

RETREAT  FROM  KENTUCKY. 

Our  Legion  was  thrown  into  the  rear  with  General  McCown's 
Division  to  bring  up  the  rear  of  Bragg's  retreat.  For  about 
ten  days  there  was  constant  watchfulness,  little  sleep,  occasional 
skirmishing,  and  great  scarcity  of  rations — all  this  through 
clouds  of  dust  and  by  the  carcasses  of  dead  horses  scattered 
along  the  roads.  On  this  retreat  provisions  were  scarcer  than 
at  any  time  during  my  connection  with  the  Legion.  It  was  a 
dry  fall,  and  pure  water  was  sometimes  hard  to  find.  On  one 
occasion  just  before  we  reached  Cumberland  River  we  crossed 
a  muddy-looking  stream.  We  all  filled  our  canteens  and  took 
a  full  draught.  The  road  ran  close  to  the  bank  for  some  dis- 
tance. We  had  not  gone  far  before  we  discovered  some  dead 
horses  lying  in  the  stream  above  the  ford  from  which  we  had 
filled  our  canteens.  These  were  days  when  we  longed  for  the 
cool,  clear  springs  of  East  Tennessee.  The  Legion,  footsore 
and  weary,  hungry  and  dirty,  passed  through  the  Gap  on  the 
22d  of  October,  just  twenty  days  after  we  started  into  Ken- 
tucky. 

General  Bragg  and  the  Confederate  authorities  were  greatly 
disappointed  at  the  outcome  of  this  campaign.  General  Bragg 
said  in  his  report : 

The  campaign  was  predicated  on  the  belief  and  the  most  positive  assur- 
ances that  the  people  would  rise  in  mass  to  assert  their  independence.  No 
people  ever  had  so  favorable  an  opportunity,  but  I  am  distressed  to  add  that 


174  REMINISCENCES. 

there  is  little  or  no  disposition  to  avail  of  it.  Willing,  perhaps,  to  accept 
their  independence,  they  are  neither  disposed  nor  willing  to  risk  their  lives 
or  their  property  in  its  achievement. 

On  the  afternoon  of  our  passage  through  the  Gap  we  camped 
down  in  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  southern  peak,  on  whose 
summit  we  had  camped  on  the  i8th  of  September.  During  the 
campaign  some  one  had  appropriated  my  blankets,  our  tent 
had  been  misplaced,  and  we  had  nothing  but  a  tent  fly  to  stretch 
over  us.  Dr.  \Yall  had  his  saddle  blanket,  and  Mr.  Micou  had 
one  thin  blanket  that  he  used  as  a  shawl.  I  had  an  overcoat 
cape.  This  was  our  stock  of  bedding.  We  lay  down  and  slept 
soundly.  When  we  awoke  the  next  morning,  there  was  about 
eighteen  inches  of  snow  on  the  ground,  and  it  had  blown  in  on 
us  till  we  were  covered  with  it.  But,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
we  were  perfectly  warm.  This  snow  remained  on  the  ground 
for  about  two  weeks.  With  wet  feet  and  clothes,  we  suffered 
much  from  colds.  This  experience  was  a  painful  contrast  to 
the  exhilarating  experience  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  a  month 
before. 

Early  in  November,  while  Bragg  was  reassembling  his  army 
to  meet  Rosecrans,  who  had  collected  an  army  in  Tennessee, 
the  Legion  was  moved  to  London,  Tennessee,  and  then  to 
Bridgeport,  Alabama.  After  a  brief  interval,  it  was  carried 
back  to  Knoxville  in  the  latter  part  of  November.  After  re- 
maining there  about  three  weeks,  the  command  was  located  in 
different  stations  for  the  winter.  Company  A,  of  the  First 
Battalion,  was  stationed  on  detached  duty  at  Bristol.  The 
other  six  companies,  under  command  of  Major  Holt,  were 
stationed  at  Big  Creek  Gap,  about  thirty  miles  south  of  Cum- 
berland Gap.  The  other  three  battalions  were  stationed  at 
Cumberland  Gap  and  other  points.  Thus  we  spent  the  winter 
of  1862-63. 

Sometime  during  this  winter  Colonel  Hilliard  resigned  the 
command  of  the  Legion.  This  made  way  for  the  promotion  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Thorington  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  as  com- 
mander of  the  Legion ;  of  Major  Holt  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
colonel,  as  commander  of  the  First  Battalion ;  of  Captain  D.  S. 


REMINISCENCES.  175 

Troy,  the  senior  captain,  to  the  rank  of  major;  and  of  Lieuten- 
ant Clarke  to  the  captaincy  of  Company  A. 

On  our  marches  up  and  down  the  various  roads  of  East 
Tennessee  we  forded  Clinch  and  Powell  Rivers  many  times. 
There  were  no  bridges  over  these  streams.  I  generally  had  a 
horse  to  carry  me  over,  either  Colonel  Holt's  or  my  own.  On 
one  of  these  occasions  (a  cold  clay  in  December,  I  think  it  was) 
I  had  to  wade  Clinch  River  with  the  other  boys.  Before  cross- 
ing, Colonel  Thorington  issued  a  humorous  order,  giving  di- 
rections about  stripping  off  all  but  our  shoes,  carrying  our 
clothes  in  a  bundle  on  our  heads,  after  the  manner  of  some 
character  mentioned  in  "Georgia  Scenes"  who  wore  only  a 
collar  and  spurs.  Thus  dressed  we  would  be  ready  for  the 
passage.  The  retention  of  our  shoes  was  necessary  on  account 
of  the  sharp  rocks  in  the  bottom  of  the  river,  which  was  about 
waist-deep.  On  reaching  the  opposite  bank  we  shivered  in  the 
chilly  blast  till  we  put  on  our  clothes — all  dry  but  our  shoes. 
A  march  in  quick  time  soon  put  our  blood  in  fine  circulation. 

AT  BIG  CREEK  GAP  DURING  THE  WINTER  OF  1862-63. 

Our  encampment  at  Big  Creek  Gap  was  monotonous  and  was 
not  marked  by  any  special  warlike  features.  I  became  well 
acquainted  with  the  officers  and  men  of  the  six  companies  that 
guarded  this  Gap.  We  had  some  good  singers.  Captain  R.  N. 
Moore,  of  Company  D,  had  been  a  singing  teacher,  had  an 
excellent  voice,  and  was  fond  of  singing.  He  and  others  made 
the  welkin  ring  many  a  night  with  their  hymns  and  songs 
around  the  camp  fires  made  of  oak  logs.  Here,  as  had  been 
the  habit  of  the  godly  men  of  the  command,  prayer  meetings 
were  frequently  held  and  were  well  attended. 

I  saw  one  phenomenon  during  this  encampment  that  I  have 
never  seen  elsewhere,  except  in  1843,  when  the  great  comet 
appeared  and  I  saw  something  like  it.  I  saw,  beginning  more 
than  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  above  the  horizon,  a  burning- 
mass  seemingly  about  the  size  of  a  hogshead  moving  nearly 
straight  down  toward  the  earth.  A  considerable  number  of 
seconds  after  it  had  passed  behind  the  mountain  I  heard  a  loud 


176  REMINISCENCES. 

explosion,  like  the  sound  of  many  cannons  fired  at  once.  The 
burning  body  left  behind  a  dense  streak  of  smoke  that  re- 
mained some  minutes.  I  learned  afterwards  that  some  sol- 
diers \vho  were  stationed  on  picket  duty  about  fifteen  miles 
over  the  mountain  saw  it  and  heard  it  strike  the  ground  with 
tremendous  noise.  This,  I  think,  was  a  meteorite — that  is,  a 
mass  of  matter  that  was  not  burned  into  smoke  and  vapor  be- 
fore reaching  the  earth,  as  meteors  are. 

The  adjutant  is  usually  required  to  have  a  horse  to  expedite 
the  carrying  of  orders;  but  as  Major  Holt  had  two  horses  and 
kindly  placed  one  of  them  at  my  disposal,  I  had  not  up  to  the 
spring  of  1863  had  much  use  for  a  horse.  I  was  a  good  pedes- 
trian and  often  preferred  walking  even  when  I  could  ride. 
Soon  after  we  left  Big  Creek  Gap  I  bought  a  fine  little  chest- 
nut sorrel  horse  full  of  life,  which  served  me  as  long  as  I 
remained  with  the  Legion.  When  I  left  the  Legion,  I  sold  him 
to  Captain  David  Clarke,  of  Company  A.  The  memory  of  that 
horse  has  always  given  me  pleasure,  as  he  was  the  means  of 
relieving  soldiers  who  were  weary  and  footsore  from  long 
marches.  I  met  a  man  in  Montgomery  fifty  years  afterwards 
who  was  very  appreciative  of  the  rides  I  sometimes  gave  him. 
While  the  horse  was  nervous  and  full  of  spirit,  he  was  kindly 
disposed.  When  I  had  lost  sleep  on  long  marches,  I  would  put 
the  bridle  over  my  arm,  lie  down  on  the  ground  by  his  feet,  and 
sleep  while  the  command  was  halted  for  a  rest. 

GRACIE'S  BRIGADE  FORMED. 

Early  in  April  the  battalions  were  all  assembled  at  Lea's 
Springs  and  placed  in  the  brigade  of  Brigadier  General  A. 
Gracie.  The  brigade  was  composed  of  the  four  battalions  of 
the  Legion  and  the  Firty-Third  Alabama  and  Sixty-Third 
Tennessee  Regiments.  In  this  command  they  remained  till 
they  were  surrendered  at  Appomattox,  April  9,  1865.  Here- 
after the  mention  of  Gracie's  Brigade  will  include  the  Legion. 
General  Gracie  was  a  New  Yorker  by  birth,  a  graduate  of  West 
Point,  but  a  resident  of  Mobile  when  the  war  broke  out.  He 
was  a  fine  drillmaster,  a  brave  officer,  and  made  one  of  the  best 


REMINISCENCES.  177 

brigade  commanders  in  the  army.  He  was  killed  at  Petersburg 
in  1864. 

I  had  some  correspondence  with  his  son,  Colonel  Archibald 
Gracie,  of  the  United  States  army,  in  reference  to  the  battle  of 
Chickamauga,  about  which  he  was  writing  a  book.  He  never 
completed  it.  He  was  a  passenger  on  the  ill-fated  steamer 
Titanic  when  she  went  down  in  April,  1912.  He  wrote  a 
thrilling  account  of  this  disaster  and  of  his  miraculous  escape, 
which  was  published  in  The  Outlook.  He  never  recovered  from 
the  nervous  shock  and  died  in  New  York  in  January,  1913. 

During  my  adjutancy  I  read  before  the  command  on  dress 
parade  all  the  orders  that  were  issued  from  the  Adjutant  Gen- 
eral's Office  in  Richmond,  from  the  Department  Headquarters, 
and  from  Division,  Brigade,  and  Battalion  Headquarters,  em- 
bracing thousands  of  pages.  My  health  was  good,  and  my 
voice  became  so  clear  from  constant  practice  that  it  was  said 
that  I  could  be  distinctly  understood  all  over  the  encampment. 

From  the  examination  of  my  monthly  reports,  General  John 
P.  McCown  paid  me  the  compliment  of  being  the  best  adjutant 
in  the  Department  of  East  Tennessee. 

12 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Encampment  at  Cumberland  Gap — The  Battle  of  Chickamauga. 

A  FTER  the  organization  of  the  brigade,  General  Gracie  had 
•**•  frequent  brigade  drills  over  fields  and  fences,  hills  and 
hollows,  just  as  if  we  were  on  the  battle  field. 

About  the  middle  of  April  the  brigade  moved  from  Lea's 
Springs  to  Cumberland  Gap,  from  Cumberland  Gap  to  Bean's 
Station,  from  Bean's  Station  to  Morristown,  and  from  Morris- 
town  back  to  Cumberland  Gap  about  the  first  of  June.  From 
this  time  to  the  Qth  of  August  the  Legion  remained  in  camp  at 
the  Gap  doing  picket  duty,  for  the  most  part  on  the  Kentucky 
side.  The  first  battalion  was  camped  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  northern  peak  and  a  little  north  of  the  road  leading  into 
Kentucky. 

During  this  encampment  of  about  two  months  I  distinctly 
recall  two  incidents.  I  was  tenting  temporarily  with  Mr. 
George  P.  Keyes,  my  sergeant  major,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Arm- 
strong, the  chaplain  of  the  battalion.  Mr.  Keyes  and  Mr. 
Armstrong  were  amiable  men  with  whom  I  was  so  intimate 
that  I  did  not  hesitate  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  camp  life  by 
playing  practical  jokes  upon  them  when  an  occasion  was  of- 
fered. On  going  out  of  the  tent  one  night  I  found  more  fox 
fire  (or  phosphorescent  wood)  than  I  ever  saw  in  one  place. 
It  had  the  appearance  of  live  coals,  extending  the  whole  length 
of  a  large  decayed  log.  I  gathered  up  a  piece  several  feet  long 
and  threw  it  into  our  tent,  where  Mr.  Armstrong  was  alone. 
It  broke  into  scores  of  pieces,  flying  all  over  the  tent,  and 
looked  exactly  like  great  chunks  of  fire.  Mr.  Armstrong  was 
so  startled  that  he  cried  out  in  dismay.  Keyes  and  I  rallied  him 
for  being  too  much  afraid  of  fire  to  be  a  genuine  Methodist 
preacher,  who  ought  to  be  undecoyed  by  any  devices  of  flattery 
and  undismayed  by  any  dangers  of  fire.  Armstrong  was  a 
brave  man  of  irreproachable  character.  He  was  wounded  in 
the  leg  in  one  of  the  later  battles  and  died  during  the  war. 
(178) 


REMINISCENCES.  179 

The  other  incident  was  an  excursion  into  Kentucky.  A 
body  of  Federals  were  encamped  at  the  ford  of  the  Kentucky 
River  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  Gap.  A  Confederate  force 
was  sent  to  attack  them.  This  force  was  made  up  of  several 
battalions  of  infantry  and  two  field  pieces  of  artillery.  The 
First  Battalion  of  the  Legion,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Colo- 
nel Holt,  constituted  part  of  this  expedition.  The  whole  force 

was  commanded  by  Colonel  H ,  of  Georgia,  who  was  the 

ranking  officer  of  the  expedition.  He  was  dressed  in  a  fine, 
new  gray  uniform  which  had  not  yet  seen  hard  service.  He 
was  a  very  loquacious  man,  full  of  high-sounding  phrases.  I 
suspected  that  a  dram  now  and  then  made  him  more  commu- 
nicative than  cautious.  As  his  adjutant  I  remained  with  Colo- 
nel Holt  during  the  conference  among  the  field  officers.  When 
we  were  near  the  ford  of  the  river,  some  women  who  claimed 
to  be  Confederate  sympathizers  informed  us  that  there  were 
lying  in  ambush  in  one  of  the  narrow  mountain  gorges  just 
ahead  of  us  a  body  of  the  enemy;  that  there  had  come  into  the 
road  behind  us  a  strong  force;  and  that  we  were  completely 
cut  off  from  the  Gap  and  were  to  be  attacked  in  front  and  rear. 
I  think  the  report  was  a  ruse  to  delay  us  while  the  Federals 
made  their  escape;  but  our  commander  believed  that  the  re- 
port was  true  and  stopped  for  several  hours  debating  what  to 
do.  The  day  wore  away  without  any  developments.  We  aft- 
erwards learned  from  some  Confederate  scouts  that  these  Fed- 
erals had  left  the  river  and  gone  back  into  Kentucky  and  that 
there  was  no  enemy  behind  us. 

I  distinctly  remember  how  insecure  I  felt  in  the  hands  of  a 
commander  in  whom  I  had  no  confidence.  I  felt  what  the  old 
hunters  used  to  call  the  "buck  ague."  We  were  not  exchanging 
prisoners  at  that  time.  I  dreaded  capture  and  a  Northern 

prison.  I  did  not  feel  the  confidence  in  Colonel  H that  a 

soldier  in  Nathan  Bedford  Forrest's  command  felt  when  he 
said:  "General  Forrest  is  a  thousand  men."  Our  men  under 
a  commander  in  whom  they  had  confidence  would  have  made 
a  valiant  fight,  as  they  did  on  many  a  field  afterwards;  but 
under  the  commander  of  that  expedition  I  do  not  know  what 


i8o  REMINISCENCES. 

they  would  have  clone.  I  know  that  a  competent  leader  is  the 
most  important  factor  in  an  army.  Alexander  the  Great  is 
reported  to  have  said :  "An  army  of  stags  commanded  by  a  lion 
is  better  than  an  army  of  lions  commanded  by  a  stag." 

BATTLE  OF  CHICKAMAUGA. 

During  the  early  part  of  August  General  Buckner,  who  had 
been  in  command  of  the  Department  of  East  Tennessee  since 
Bragg's  retreat  out  of  Kentucky,  commenced  the  evacuation  of 
East  Tennessee,  in  accordance  with  the  plan  to  concentrate  the 
Confederate  forces  near  Chattanooga,  in  order  to  check  Gen- 
eral Rosecrans,  who  was  threatening  that  part  of  the  country. 
On  the  9th  of  August  the  Legion  left  Cumberland  Gap  and  took 
up  the  line  of  march  by  way  of  Strawberry  Plains,  Knox- 
ville,  and  Turkey  Creek  to  London,  where  we  remained  till  the 
1st  of  September.  Then  Buckner's  Corps,  of  which  Gracie's 
Brigade  formed  a  part,  began  a  continuous  movement  that  wras 
to  have  no  intermission  till  we  were  settled  in  the  besieging  line 
in  front  of  Chattanooga  after  the  battle  of  Chickamauga. 
Over  a  rocky  road,  enveloped  in  clouds  of  dust,  we  marched 
constantly  by  day  and  sometimes  by  night.  I  recall  nothing 
of  special  interest  on  this  march  till  we  reached  McLemore's 
Cove. 

This  cove  lies  south  of  Chattanooga  about  twenty-five  miles, 
between  Lookout  Mountain  and  Pigeon  Mountain.  It  is  from 
five  to  eight  miles  wide,  about  fifteen  miles  long,  and  contains 
about  ninety  square  miles.  Chickamauga  Creek  rises  in  the 
southern  or  upper  end  of  it,  runs  in  a  northerly  direction,  and 
empties  into  the  Tennessee  River  just  above  Chattanooga.  The 
cove  is  entered  from  the  west  through  Stevens  Gap  and  from 
the  east  through  four  gaps  in  Pigeon  Mountain.  Behind  Pi- 
geon Mountain  General  Bragg  had  his  army  massed. 

The  Federal  army  was  at  this  time  perilously  separated  un- 
der an  erroneous  report  from  General  Sheridan  that  Bragg 
was  retreating  to  Rome,  Georgia.  The  right  wing  was  about 
thirty  miles  south  of  Stevens  Gap,  under  General  McCook. 
The  left  wing,  under  General  Crittenden,  was  about  twenty-five 


REMINISCENCES.  181 

miles  north  in  two  bodies  some  ten  miles  apart.  General  Thom- 
as, who  at  this  time  held  the  center,  marched  his  corps  through 
Stevens  Gap  into  the  cove  and  was  proceeding  to  cross  Pi- 
geon Mountain  through  Dug  Gap.  General  Bragg  was  aware 
of  all  this  and  ordered  General  Hindman  to  make  a  vigorous 
attack  on  the  head  of  Thomas's  columns  while  in  the  cove. 
Hindman  delayed  till  he  could  send  to  LaFayette  and  get 
Bragg's  permission  to  change  this  order.  Bragg  sent  him 
word  to  go  ahead  and  execute  the  orders  he  already  had. 
Bragg  had  also  ordered  General  Hill  to  send  Cleburne  to  sup- 
port Hindman.  For  some  reason  Hill  did  not  send  Cleburne. 
Thus  a  day  was  lost  in  making  the  attack  on  the  enemy  in  the 
cove.  In  the  meantime  Buckner's  Corps  was  ordered  to  come 
from  the  extreme  right  of  Bragg's  army.  We  had  a  forced 
march  of  a  good  many  miles  to  reach  the  cove.  After  we  got 
into  the  cove,  we  made  some  protracted  double-quick  move- 
ments, trying  to  bring  the  retreating  enemy  to  bay,  and  had 
some  skirmishing  in  this  pursuit.  Here  I  saw  the  first  dead 
Federal,  lying  on  his  back  between  two  corn  rows  with  open 
glazed  eyes  as  he  had  looked  upward  for  the  last  time.  This 
sight  affected  me  more  than  the  sight  of  hundreds  of  dead 
men  did  on  the  field  of  Chickamauga.  Our  chasing  and  killing 
a  few  poor  fellows  was  of  no  avail.  The  delays  of  the  preced- 
ing day  had  enabled  Thomas  to  discover  his  danger  and  retreat 
behind  the  natural  fortifications  in  front  of  Stevens  Gap. 
Thus  Bragg  failed  to  crush  the  center  of  Rosecrans's  army 
through  the  delay  of  his  generals.  He  laid  the  blame  upon 
Hindman  and  Hill. 

His  next  move  was  to  fall  upon  the  separated  portions  of 
the  left  wing  of  the  Federal  army  under  General  Crittenden. 
He  ordered  General  Polk  to  make  an  immediate  and  vigorous 
attack.  But  Polk,  believing  that  a  general  attack  was  about  to 
be  made  on  his  wing  of  the  army,  waited  until  he  could  sum- 
mon Buckner's  Corps  to  his  support.  Thus  we  had  another 
long  forced  march.  But  the  delay  of  a  whole  day  enabled 
Crittenden  to  unite  his  forces  and  take  a  strong  position  west 
of  Chickamauga  Creek. 


i82  REMIXISCEXCES. 

Bragg's  plans  were  well  laid,  and  his  orders  were  promptly 
given ;  but  for  some  reason  he  did  not  have  the  confidence  of 
his  subordinates.  John  Fiske,  in  his  "History  of  the  \\'ar  in 
the  Southwest,"  says  in  substance:  "If  Robert  E.  Lee  or  Stone- 
wall Jackson  had  been  in  command  of  Bragg's  army,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  what  could  have  saved  the  Federal  army  from  de- 
struction." One  necessary  element  in  a  military  commander 
is  the  power  to  inspire  the  confidence  and  to  secure  the  prompt 
and  unquestioned  obedience  of  his  subordinates.  Alexander, 
Caesar,  Napoleon,  Lee,  and  Stonewall  Jackson  could  do  this. 
Whether  Bragg's  failure  was  due  to  his  own  fault  or  that  of 
his  generals,  I  do  not  know. 

General  Bragg's  third  plan  was  to  move  his  army  down  the 
Chickamauga  over  the  bridges  and  fords  below  the  position  of 
Crittenden's  Corps,  sweep  up  the  valley,  drive  him  back  on  the 
Federal  center,  and  get  between  it  and  Chattanooga.  When 
Rosecrans  saw  the  situation,  he  states  in  his  report,  "it  then 
became  a  matter  of  life  and  death  to  effect  the  concentration 
of  the  army."  On  the  night  of  the  iSth  he  succeeded  in  mov- 
ing Thomas's  Corps  to  Crittenden's  left  and  in  placing  the  bulk 
of  his  army  between  Bragg  and  Chattanooga.  This  brought 
on  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  during  the  iQth  and  2oth  of 
September,  1863,  which  has  been  pronounced  "one  of  the 
bloodiest  in  modern  times." 

During  the  afternoon  and  night  of  the  iSth  most  of  the 
Confederate  army  crossed  to  the  west  of  the  Chickamauga. 
In  the  late  afternoon  Gracie's  Brigade  crossed  on  a  bridge  about 
a  mile  below  Lee  and  Gordon's  Mill.  We  lay  on  our  arms  that 
night  four  or  five  hundred  yards  from  Barnes's  Federal  Bri- 
gade, which  was  stationed  on  a  hill  just  across  a  branch  of  the 
creek.  All  was  quiet  along  the  Chickamauga  till  about  eight 
o'clock  the  next  morning,  when  some  of  the  First  Battalion 
while  lighting  their  pipes  started  a  fire  in  the  dry  leaves  in  our 
front.  The  smoke  revealed  our  position  and  drew  the  shells 
from  a  battery  of  the  enemy.  They  burst  in  our  front  and 
over  our  heads,  doing  some  damage.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Holt 
ordered  me  to  detail  some  men  to  put  out  the  fire.  The  men 


REMINISCENCES.  183 

started,  but  hesitated  when  the  shells  came  thick  and  fast  with 
startling  explosions.  I  said  to  them :  "Well,  if  you  can't  put 
the  fire  out,  I  will  do  it  myself."  They  could  not  stand  this 
reflection  on  their  courage  and  promptly  went  with  me  and 
extinguished  the  fire.  In  good  health  and  with  steady  nerves, 
I  could  hold  myself  still  in  the  midst  of  these  bursting  shells 
without  the  twitch  of  a  muscle.  I  mention  this  to  show  what 
a  difference  there  is  in  being  in  fine  condition  and  in  being 
bruised  in  body  by  Minie  balls  and  bereaved  in  mind  from  the 
loss  of  friends — a  state  in  which  I  found  myself  on  the  23d 
and  24th  in  front  of  Chattanooga.  This  difference  will  appear 
when  I  describe  the  circumstances  then. 

The  battle  began  in  earnest  about  half  past  nine  o'clock, 
when  General  Forrest  came  in  conflict  with  General  Thomas's 
left.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  bloody  drama  to  begin. 
Soon  both  armies  were  moving  in  the  direction  of  this  vortex 
of  fierce  fighting.  Soon  Walker's  Corps  became  engaged  with 
Croxton's  and  Starkweather's  Divisions,  and  the  battle  in  a 
short  time  extended  all  along  our  front.  For  hours  the  roar 
of  musketry  was  one  continuous  sound,  like  a  dozen  railway 
trains  crossing  trestles,  or  the  roar  of  an  approaching  hurricane, 
varied  only  by  the  thunder  of  cannon  and  the  bursting  of  shells. 
There  was  something  sublime  in  this  awful  scene  that  made  our 
blood  tingle  in  our  veins.  Every  now  and  then  we  were  moved 
forward  at  a  double-quick,  first  to  the  right  and  then  to  the 
left,  so  as  to  keep  within  easy  reach  of  the  raging  conflict. 

When  we  started  in  the  morning,  there  were  two  lines  ahead 
of  us.  Litters  carrying  the  wounded  passed  through  our  line 
going  to  the  rear.  The  horrors  of  battle  thus  became  evident. 
During  the  afternoon  the  front  line  was  relieved.  As  the  sol- 
diers passed  through  our  ranks  with  reduced  numbers  and 
powder-stained  faces  one  of  them  said :  "Boys,  you  will  find  a 
hot  place  out  there."  We  were  only  spectators  through  the 
long  hours  of  this  memorable  iQth  of  September.  These  were 
hours  that  tried  men's  souls,  hours  when  they  were  seriously 
called  upon  to  examine  the  foundation  of  their  faith,  hours 
when  they  became  earnestly  prayerful  or  insanely  reckless, 


1 84  REMINISCENCES. 

hours  in  which  it  would  not  do  to  let  one's  self  go  to  pieces,  if 
he  had  any  respect  for  his  good  name  or  for  the  imperatives  of 
duty. 

Just  before  dark  the  only  remaining  line  was  withdrawn 
from  our  front,  passing  over  us  to  the  rear  and  leaving  us  face 
to  face  with  the  enemy. 

Except  in  one  part  of  the  field  where  Cleburne  made  a  fierce 
attack  on  the  Federal  divisions  of  Johnson  and  Baird  for  about 
an  hour  after  dark,  and  the  rumbling  of  heavy  artillery  moving 
over  the  rocky  roads  continuously  to  a  late  hour,  there  was 
comparative  silence  along  the  Chickamauga  through  the  hours 
of  that  solemn  night  whose  end  was  to  lift  the  curtain  on  the 
scene  of  many  a  tragedy. 

The  night  was  cold,  and  we  had  little  but  our  clothing  to 
shield  us  from  its  cutting  air.  I  had  only  an  overcoat  cape. 
We  had  been  forbidden  to  kindle  any  fires.  We  had  nothing 
to  eat  except  cold  beef  and  tough  biscuits  made  of  flour  and 
water  three  days  before;  but  we  had  something  else  to  think 
about  besides  the  comfort  of  our  bodies.  The  night  was  clear, 
and  the  stars  seemed  to  look  down  on  us  with  pity  as  we  were, 
each  one  in  his  own  way,  trying  to  adjust  his  spirit  to  the  or- 
deal set  for  the  rising  sun.  Few  and  low  were  the  words  spo- 
ken. I  can  only  recall  some  of  my  own  reflections  thus :  "I  am 
not  responsible  for  bringing  on  this  war.  I  am  in  it  through 
what  seems  to  be  a  call  of  duty.  This  call  I  must  obey,  leaving 
the  issues  in  the  hand  of  God,  who  is  able  to  preserve  my  life, 
which  I  solemnly  rededicate  to  Him.  I  know  that  He  can,  by 
means  of  a  twig,  divert  a  Minie  ball  from  a  vital  part  or,  by 
a  grain  of  sand  in  the  casting  of  a  shell,  deflect  a  fragment 
from  its  fatal  course ;  or  He  can,  without  any  means,  preserve 
a  life  placed  in  His  hands."  I  had  a  comfortable  conviction 
that  He  would  cover  my  head  in  the  hour  of  battle.  With  these 
reflections  I  braced  my  spirit  for  the  trial  which  lay  before  me. 

We  were  ordered  to  be  ready  to  move  forward  at  daylight. 
Daylight  came,  and  the  sun  rose  on  as  beautiful  a  Sunday  as 
he  had  ever  shone  on  since  the  morning  of  creation.  Just  after 
sunrise  General  Gracie  rode  along  our  line  and  said :  "Alabam- 


REMINISCENCES.  185 

ians,  you  will  be  led  in  battle  to-day  by  General  Longstreet. 
Show  yourselves  worthy  of  your  native  State."  A  hearty 
cheer  rose  in  response.  Longstreet  had  arrived  on  the  bat- 
tle field  at  eleven  o'clock  the  night  before.  We  waited  till 
about  nine  o'clock  before  the  word  "Forward!"  was  given. 
When  the  command  was  finally  given,  we  moved  rapidly,  pass- 
ing over  ground  from  which  the  enemy  had  retreated.  About 
eleven  o'clock  Longstreet  discovered  a  gap  in  the  Federal  lines, 
into  which  he  plunged  the  divisions  of  B.  R.  Johnson,  Law, 
and  Kershaw,  breaking  the  Federal  line,  "sending  four  of  their 
brigades  over  the  ridges  to  the  west  and  north,  separating  the 
troops  of  Davis,  Sheridan,  and  Wilder  from  the  left  wing  of 
the  Union  army.  Generals  Rosecrans,  McCook,  and  Critten- 
den,  being  in  the  rear  of  Sheridan's  line  when  the  break  oc- 
curred, were  swept  off  the  field  in  a  general  rout.  Apprehen- 
sive that  the  day  was  against  him,  Rosecrans  proceeded  directly 
to  Chattanooga,  leaving  Garfield,  his  chief  of  staff,  to  return 
to  Snodgrass  Hill  with  orders  for  Thomas."  This  quotation, 
from  an  article  published  at  the  dedication  of  the  Chickamauga 
National  Park,  is  from  Captain  J.  C.  McElroy,  of  the  Eight- 
eenth Ohio  Regiment.  As  it  is  from  the  Federal  side,  I  am  sure 
that  it  is  not  overdrawn;  besides,  it  confirms  my  recollection 
of  the  thrilling  movements  of  that  eventful  forenoon.  We  felt 
sure  that  victory  was  perching  upon  our  banners.  During  the 
afternoon  we  were  advancing  toward  Snodgrass  Hill,  where 
the  battle  was  now  nearly  all  concentrated.  We  were  drawing 
near  to  the  most  fatal  spot  on  that  whole  sanguinary  field  of 
Chickamauga,  Horseshoe,  or  Snodgrass  Hill.  On  the  brow 
of  these  hills,  which  bend  around  in  an  irregular  semicircle 
opening  toward  McFarland's  Gap,  General  Thomas  had  erect- 
ed breastworks  of  logs  from  two  to  three  feet  high.  Behind 
these  he  had  collected  in  compact  lines  all  the  forces  of  the 
Union  army  that  remained  available.  After  the  flight  of 
Rosecrans,  McCook,  and  Crittenden,  he  held  this  place  with 
consummate  skill  and  courageous  tenacity  from  twelve  o'clock 
to  6  P.M.,  while  the  remnant  of  the  Federal  army  was  being 


1 86  REMINISCENCES. 

withdrawn  through  McFarland's  Gap.    On  account  of  this  feat 
he  won  the  title  of  "Rock  of  Chickamauga." 

General  Longstreet  was  the  ruling  spirit  among  the  Confed- 
erates on  September  20,  1863.  If  he  could  have  dislodged 
Thomas  sooner,  much  more  of  the  Federal  army  would  have 
been  destroyed.  During  the  afternoon  he  made  six  heavy 
assaults  on  this  hill.  General  Kershaw  says :  "These .  were 
the  heaviest  assaults  made  on  any  one  place  during  the  war." 
Preston's  Division  (including  Gracie's,  Kelley's,  and  Trigg's 
Brigades)  made  the  last  of  these  attacks  late  in  the  afternoon. 
In  order  to  reach  the  breastworks  where  the  Federals  were 
posted  we  had  to  pass  over  the  top  of  a  ridge  several  hundred 
yards  from  their  position,  then  go  down  a  slope  into  a  ravine, 
and  up  the  steep  side  of  Snodgrass  Hill.  The  moment  we  ap- 
peared on  this  ridge  we  were  greeted  by  a  ferocious  volley  of 
musketry.  We  had  advanced  only  a  few  steps  when  Lieuten- 
ant Colonel  Holt  was  mortally  wounded.  I  ordered  him  car- 
ried to  the  rear.  A  few  minutes  later  I  was  struck  by  a  glanc- 
ing ball  on  the  inside  of  my  left  ankle,  which  I  felt  give  way 
under  my  weight.  As  soon  as  I  found  that  it  was  not  broken  I 
forgot  all  about  it  for  the  time.  We  had  not  advanced  to  the 
bottom  of  the  ravine  before  many  of  our  men  had  fallen,  some 
killed  outright,  more  wounded,  among  them  my  friend  Cap- 
tain R.  N.  Moore,  whom  I  sent  to  the  rear  as  soon  as  I  saw 
how  he  was  wounded.  When  I  saw  how  we  were  being  butch- 
ered and  discovered  no  ranking  officer  of  the  battalion  taking 
charge,  I  endeavored  to  get  the  men  to  move  forward  without 
waiting  to  fire  and  reload.  I  saw  General  Gracie  coming  along 
in  the  rear  of  the  line  on  foot.  I  ran  to  him  and  asked  what 
orders  he  wished  me  to  carry.  He  said :  "Tell  the  men  for 
God's  sake  to  go  forward."  I  then  ran  along  the  line  repeating 
the  General's  order.  The  roar  of  the  guns  was  so  deafening 
that  the  men  could  scarcely  hear  me.  While  we  were  moving 
up  the  hill  toward  the  breastworks  and  the  battalion  was  not 
moving  rapidly  enough,  I  went  in  front  of  the  line  and  mo- 
tioned the  men  to  come  on  faster.  It  occurred  to  me  that  I 
did  not  want  to  be  shot  in  the  back.  Just  after  I  had  turned  to 


REMINISCENCES.  187 

face  the  enemy  a  Minie  ball  struck  my  left  breast  a  little  below 
the  collar  bone.  So  violent  was  the  blow  that  it  stopped  my 
breath  for  some  seconds.  It  burned  like  a  coal  of  fire.  I  was 
sure  that  it  had  penetrated  my  chest.  Lieutenant  Joe  Barker 
and  one  or  two  others  ran  to  me  and  asked  what  they  could  do 
for  me.  I  answered:  "Never  mind  me.  Go  on  faster!"  This 
exhortation  to  the  men  recalled  my  thoughts  from  myself  and 
rallied  my  mind  from  the  first  momentary  depression.  As  soon 
as  I  could  I  drew  a  deep  breath  and  found  that  I  could  not 
hawk  up  blood  nor  run  my  finger  into  a  bullet  hole  in  my 
breast.  I  saw  that  I  was  not  yet  killed,  though  badly  stunned. 

I  had  my  overcoat  cape  rolled  up  and  swung  over  my  left 
shoulder,  with  the  ends  fastened  together  and  secured  to  my 
sword  belt  on  the  right  side.  The  ball  had  passed  through 
seven  folds  of  this  cape  and  lining,  making  fourteen  cloths, 
through  a  heavily  padded  military  coat,  and  through  two  shirts. 
But  for  striking  the  center  of  this  roll,  the  elongated  ounce 
missile  would  have  passed  through  me  and  another  man  stand- 
ing in  the  line  of  its  course.  God  had  saved  my  life,  not  by 
a  twig  or  a  grain  of  sand,  as  I  had  thought  the  night  before 
He  could  do,  but  by  means  of  my  cape. 

There  was  a  lull  in  the  enemy's  firing.  Thomas  was  with- 
drawing the  last  of  his  forces.  As  the  sun  went  down  behind 
the  hill  they  were  all  gone  except  the  Twenty-First  and  Eighty- 
Ninth  Ohio  and  the  Twenty-Second  Michigan  Regiments. 
These  commands  had  failed  to  receive  the  order  to  retire  and 
were  surrounded  and  captured  by  Kelley's  and  Trigg's  Bri- 
gades, of  our  division. 

Thus  ended  the  fighting  of  these  two  memorable  days.  But 
not  so  the  suffering  and  the  sorrow.  As  night  spread  her  sa- 
ble curtain  over  the  melancholy  scene  the  men  of  the  First 
Battalion  who  were  left  alive  collected  around  the  fires  made 
of  rails  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  fatal  hill.  Hither 
we  brought  our  wounded. 

As  soon  as  I  was  relieved  from  the  strain  of  the  battle  I 
found  that  I  was  suffering  severe  pain  in  my  ankle  joint.  This, 
though  protected  by  a  high-quartered  shoe,  was  so  badly 


iS8  REMINISCENCES. 

bruised  that  it  remained  swollen  for  many  days  and  gave  me 
trouble  at  times  for  several  months.  The  missile  which  struck 
my  breast  broke  the  skin,  but  did  not  pass  through  the  flexible 
cartilage  of  the  breastbone.  The  contusion  was  so  great  that 
the  whole  left  side  of  my  breast  turned  very  dark  in. the  next 
two  or  three  days  and  then  became  a  greenish  hue,  which  did 
did  not  wholly  fade  out  for  two  or  three  weeks.  But  I  consid- 
ered myself  fortunate  indeed  and  almost  forgot  my  slight 
scratches  when  I  saw  the  great  number  of  my  comrades  man- 
gled and  bleeding  and  some  of  them  dying.  I  have  always  re- 
membered with  deep  gratitude  my  narrow  escape. 

I  know  that  a  soldier  can  die  the  death  of  a  Christian,  but 
his  supreme  motive  in  what  he  is  fighting  for  must  be  the  glory 
of  Christ.  One  of  the  most  triumphant  deaths  I  ever  witnessed 
was  that  of  a  soldier  under  the  most  unfavorable  circumstances. 
I  am  not  altogether  satisfied  with  my  action  in  this  battle. 
\Yhile  I  had  some  patriotism  and  some  sense  of  duty,  I  am 
convinced  that  pride  and  selfish  ambition  entered  too  largely 
into  the  motives  that  prompted  my  action.  I  am  profoundly 
thankful  that  God  has  graciously  spared  my  life  for  more  than 
fifty  years,  whose  discipline  of  disappointment,  trial,  and  sor- 
row has,  I  trust,  chastened  the  selfish  ambitions  of  my  young 
manhood. 

I  should  like  to  omit  all  record  of  the  mournful  scenes  after 
this  battle.  The  incidents  were  too  numerous  and  too  horrible 
to  be  mentioned  in  detail.  I  shall  allude  to  only  two  comrades, 
who  were  lying  around  the  fires  on  the  cold  rocky  ground  with 
little  or  no  cover,  and  only  one  surgeon  to  stanch  their  bleeding 
wounds.  "There  was  lack  of  woman's  nursing,  there  was 
dearth  of  woman's  tears." 

There  lay  a  fine  young  man  whom  I  had  known  at  the  Uni- 
versity. His  life  was  ebbing  away  through  a  mortal  wound. 
His  pitiful  cries  for  help  were  heart-rending  as  he  called  out: 
"O  Dr.  Wall,  save  me!  O  Dr.  Wall,  don't  let  me  die!"  The 
Doctor  could  do  nothing  for  him.  He  soon  sank  into  uncon- 
sciousness and  then  into  death. 

The  other  was  also  a  splendid  young  man,  as  modest  as  he 


REMINISCENCES.  189 

was  brave.  He  had  been  a  leader  in  the  religious  meetings  of 
the  battalion,  a  youth  of  spotless  character,  proving  that  a  man 
can  keep  himself  pure  in  spite  of  the  demoralizing  influences  of 
army  life.  His  abdomen  was  so  badly  torn  open  that  his  in- 
testines were  coming  out  on  the  ground.  He  knew  that  his  end 
had  come,  yet  he  was  the  calmest  and  the  happiest  man  in  all 
that  sorrowful  company.  His  mind  was  perfectly  clear.  He 
said  with  a  luminous  smile  that  he  was  ready  to  go.  He  sent 
messages  to  his  relatives  at  home.  He  bade  us  good-by  as  if 
he  were  going  to  his  home  in  Montgomery.  He  then  turned 
his  thoughts  toward  heaven  with  serene  confidence  and  glad 
anticipations,  presenting  a  striking  example  that 

"Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 

Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are." 

Thus  passed  into  life  eternal  this  valiant  young  soldier  of  the 
Legion,  this  triumphant  young  soldier  of  the  cross.  Blessed  be 
thy  memory,  O  Zeno  Gayle! 

When  the  sun  rose  on  that  field  of  death,  those  who  were 
able  had  to  engage  in  the  melancholy  task  of  sending  home  or 
burying  our  dead  and,  besides  our  own  dead,  fully  as  many  of 
the  enemy,  but  now  enemies  no  more.  Death  takes  the  sting 
out  of  enmity.  We  were  occupied  in  this  woeful  duty  for  two 
days.  There  were  so  many  thousands  of  the  dead  to  be  buried 
that,  it  seemed  to  me,  as  I  rode  over  the  field  the  second  day 
after  the  battle,  there  must  have  been  hundreds  of  Federals 
still  unburied.  The  odor  arising  from  them  and  the  dead 
horses  was  almost  unbearable.  How  long  these  poor  fellows 
remained  unburied  I  do  not  know. 

General  Bragg  began  moving  his  army  up  to  Chattanooga 
on  the  22d.  On  Wednesday  morning,  the  23d,  all  of  Grade's 
Brigade  who  were  able  to  go  followed  with  the  purpose,  it 
was  reported,  of  storming  the  enemy's  fortifications.  I  was 
not  able  to  walk.  But  for  the  fact  that  I  had  a  horse,  I  should 
have  been  compelled  to  remain  in  the  field  hospital,  as  Dr.  Wall 
advised.  With  every  muscle  in  my  body  sore  and  with  my 
rnind  sad  over  the  shocking  sights  of  the  last  five  days,  I  had 


190  REMINISCENCES. 

no  heart  to  make  a  charge  on  any  more  breastworks,  nor  could 
I  keep  myself  from  wincing  under  the  bursting  shells  that  ex- 
ploded over  our  heads.  I  did  not  have  the  firm  nerves  and 
physical  stamina  of  which  I  was  conscious  on  the  morning  of 
the  i Qth.  I  tried  to  brace  my  courage  to  make  the  charge  on 
horseback  if  this  should  be  commanded,  but  it  would  have  been 
a  most  repulsive  duty.  I  felt  the  revulsion  which  naturally 
comes  after  days  of  stirring  endeavor.  No  man  knows  how 
brave  he  is  till  he  has  run  the  whole  gamut  of  physical  and 
mental  conditions.  No  man  can  be  uniformly  brave  without 
a  high  moral  purpose  to  sustain  him  when  animal  courage  is 
exhausted  and  temporary  excitement  has  subsided.  Napoleon 
is  quoted  as  saying :  "No  man  is  brave  at  all  times."  General 
Grant  has  stated  substantially  the  same  psychological  fact.  I 
am  sure  that  no  man  should  waste  his  resources  of  valor  in 
braggadocio.  But  in  the  presence  of  danger  every  man  would 
be  wise  to  go  quietly  and  cautiously,  relying  on  a  Power  higher 
than  his  own,  as  Washington  and  Lee  and  Stonewall  Jackson 
were  accustomed  to  do. 

In  this  connection  I  may  offer  what  I  consider  the  psycho- 
logical explanation  of  the  fact  that  men  feel  so  little  fear  while 
actually  engaged  in  battle,  whereas  they  felt  so  much  in  con- 
templating the  danger  beforehand.  In  the  contemplation  the 
sensibilities  are  in  full  play.  In  the  active  engagement  the 
mental  faculties  are  abnormally  stimulated,  while  the  opera- 
tion of  the  sensibilities  is  temporarily  suspended.  The  soldier 
knows  that  he  is  in  danger,  but  he  does  not  feel  it.  He  feels 
no  gush  of  sorrow  over  a  friend  shot  dead  at  his  side,  nor  the 
usual  sympathy  for  a  wounded  comrade  writhing  in  agony, 
nor  does  he  have  the  sense  of  fear  which  he  would  ordinarily 
experience — all  because  his  power  to  feel  is  paralyzed  for  the 
time  being.  Moreover,  our  feelings  become  less  sensitive  from 
the  sight  of  multiplied  suffering  and  death  on  the  battle  field. 
My  feelings  were  more  moved  when  I  saw  the  first  dead  man 
in  McLemore's  Cove  than  they  were  at  the  sight  of  hundreds 
on  the  field  of  Chickamauga.  This  blunting  of  the  sensibilities 
is  one  of  the  evil  effects  of  war. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Losses  in  the  Battle — Consolidation  of  the  Legion — Excursion  across 
French  Broad  River — Three  Men  Shot  for  Desertion — Disillusioned  of 
My  Dreams  of  Military  Glory — Return  to  the  University — Captain  D. 
Poynor,  Professor  Crawford  H.  Toy,  Captain  John  Howard  Murfee, 
and  Mr.  Paul  F.  Tricou — Dr.  Thomas  Osmond  Summers — Professors 
E.  R.  Dickson,  B.  F.  Meek,  and  H.  M.  Somerville— Fight  at  Chehaw— 
Corps  Sent  to  Blue  Mountain,  Pollard,  and  Blakely — Sent  with  a  Guard 
to  North  Alabama. 

TT  was  reported  in  army  circles  that  General  Longstreet  was 
-••  held  back  by  General  Bragg  from  storming  the  breastworks 
in  front  of  Chattanooga.  For  some  reason  the  attack  was 
never  made.  Bragg  decided  to  settle  down  for  a  regular  siege. 
The  left  of  his  army  rested  at  the  foot  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
the  center  extending  about  halfway  between  the  city  and  Mis- 
sionary Ridge,  running  a  little  west  of  Orchard  Knob,  the 
right  extending  to  the  Tennessee  River  about  two  miles  north 
of  the  city.  Grade's  Brigade  occupied  a  position  near  the  cen- 
ter of  this  line  of  investment.  At  first  we  were  vigorously 
shelled  by  the  Federal  batteries. 

Now  settled  down  in  the  siege,  the  first  opportunity  is  given 
to  speak  fully  of  our  losses  in  the  recent  battle.  General  Grade 
says  in  his  report :  "The  First  Battalion,  Alabama  Legion,  sus- 
tained the  heaviest  loss."  Two-thirds  of  this  battalion  were 
either  killed  or  wounded.  I  think  we  had  the  worst  place 
in  the  whole  line ;  besides,  I  never  have  thought  that  our  part 
of  the  line  was  as  well  managed  as  it  might  have  been.  I  be- 
lieved then,  as  I  believe  still,  that  a  more  rapid  charge  would 
have  been  less  fatal.  We  had  no  field  officer  in  command. 
At  the  outset  Lieutenant  Colonel  Holt  was  fatally  wounded. 
Major  Troy  was  absent  on  sick  leave.  None  of  the  captains, 
so  far  as  I  saw,  took  active  command  of  the  battalion.  As 
adjutant  I  did  what  I  could  to  hasten  our  movement,  which 
was  retarded  by  constant  firing  and  reloading ;  while  the  Fed- 
erals, shielded  behind  their  breastworks,  had  us  out  in  the  open 
at  a  great  disadvantage.  We  should  have  got  at  them  in  the 

(190 


192  REMIXISCENCES. 

shortest  order.  I  mean  this  criticism  as  a  reflection  on  no  one's 
courage,  for  it  was  not  possible  for  any  command  (officers  and 
men)  to  have  shown  more  cool  bravery  in  the  face  of  death. 

Speaking  of  the  losses  in  both  armies,  Federal  Captain  H. 
V.  Boynton  says:  "Few,  if  any,  of  the  great  battles  of  the 
war  show  an  equal  amount  of  casualties,  considering  the  num- 
bers engaged  and  the  time  of  fighting.  The  losses  of  killed 
and  wounded  and  missing  for  Rosecrans's  army  were  sixteen 
thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-nine."  Most  reports  make 
the  losses  of  the  Confederate  army  about  the  same  as  those  of 
the  Federals.  Captain  J.  C.  McElroy,  of  the  Eighteenth  Ohio 
Regiment,  says:  "Both  armies  suffered  severely  in  killed  and 
wounded.  It  is  estimated  that  not  less  than  thirty  thousand 
were  struck  with  shot  and  shell  during  the  two  days'  battle. 
No  men  on  any  battle  field  of  the  world  ever  exhibited  great- 
er personal  daring  or  more  steadfast  courage  than  was  dis- 
played at  Chickamauga  by  rank  and  file  of  both  armies;  and 
while  we  may  bitterly  regret  the  carnage,  grief,  and  waste 
which  resulted  from  the  conflict,  we  cannot  feel  otherwise  than 
proud  of  the  stubborn  valor  manifested  in  this  engagement  by 
the  American  soldier,  whether  he  wore  the  blue  or  the  gray," 

During  this  siege  Lieutenant  Colonel  Holt  died  from  the 
effect  of  his  wound,  and  also  Captain  R.  N.  Moore,  two  splen- 
did Christian  gentlemen  whose  passing  was  an  occasion  of  sor- 
row to  the  whole  battalion.  The  death  of  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Holt  made  way  for  the  promotion  of  Major  Daniel  S.  Troy  to 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  colonel  and  gave  him  the  command  of 
the  battalion.  He  was  a  true  friend  whose  name  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  mention  several  times  hereafter. 

The  siege  became  very  monotonous  and  disagreeable.  When 
it  rained,  we  moved  around  in  the  mud.  There  was  no  drain- 
age for  our  camp.  Our  water  supply  was  very  impure.  The 
location  soon  became  unsanitary.  Our  rations  consisted  of 
"blue"  beef  and  cornbread  made  out  of  musty  meal.  These 
conditions  brought  on  a  good  deal  of  dysentery.  I  became 
very  unwell  with  the  prevailing  disease — the  only  time  I  was 
sick  during  the  war.  The  doctor  was  not  able  to  check  my 


REMINISCENCES.  193 

malady,  which  seemed  in  danger  of  becoming  chronic.  Upon 
the  recommendation  of  Dr.  Wall  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  Troy, 
I  was  granted  a  furlough  of  twenty  days.  I  left  the  camp 
about  the  last  of  October. 

On  the  4th  of  November  Longstreet's  Corps  was  sent  to 
Knoxville  to  check  Burnside's  operations  in  East  Tennessee. 
Gracie's  Brigade  soon  followed  and  became  a  part  of  Long- 
street's  Corps  for  the  remainder  of  the  war. 

Before  my  furlough  was  out  I  started  back  to  the  command. 
In  Atlanta  I  met  some  of  my  comrades  who  had  been  sick  and 
wounded  and  who  were  returning  to  the  army.  AVe  were  in- 
formed that  our  brigade  had  gone  into  East  Tennessee  with 
Longstreet,  that  the  railroad  had  been  cut,  and  that  wre  would 
have  to  go  around  through  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia.  We 
made  this  trip  in  box  cars  during  a  very  cold  spell  of  weather. 
When  we  reached  Bristol,  Tennessee,  we  found  the  bridges 
destroyed  and  the  railroads  all  torn  up.  There  was  nothing 
left  to  do  but  to  go  on  foot  from  Bristol  to  our  command, 
which  we  found  at  Dandridge,  Tennessee,  a  distance  of  fully 
a  hundred  miles.  The  weather  was  extremely  cold.  Snow 
and  ice  covered  the  railroad  track  over  which  we  had  to  trav- 
el, sometimes  walking  the  slippery  timbers  of  trestles  and 
broken  bridges,  sometimes  sleeping  on  the  frozen  ground  by 
a  log  fire  when  we  could  not  get  a  depot  or  other  shelter  to 
cover  us.  We  had  no  rations  except  such  as  we  could  buy. 
Provisions  were  scarce,  as  both  armies  had  been  over  the  coun- 
try. One  night,  in  company  with  Captain  Stokes,  of  the  Third 
Battalion,  and  several  soldiers,  I  was  sleeping  in  the  office  of 
a  railroad  depot.  After  we  had  lain  down,  a  soldier  came  and 
whispered  to  the  captain,  saying :  "Captain,  if  you  hear  any  one 
come  into  the  room  during  the  night,  just  remain  fast  asleep, 
and  it  will  be  all  right."  When  we  awoke  the  next  morning, 
we  found  our  haversacks  filled  with  nice  barbecued  kid.  The 
fellows  had  found  a  herd  of  goats,  had  killed  one  or  two,  and 
barbecued  the  meat.  We  ate  of  it  freely  and  asked  no  ques- 
tions. After  a  tramp  of  some  five  or  six  days,  we  found  the 
brigade  at  Dandridge,  thirty  miles  east  of  Knoxville. 
13 


i94  REMINISCENCES. 

CONSOLIDATION  OF  THE  LEGION. 

I  had  been  so  long  cut  off  from  the  command  that  I  knew 
nothing  of  what  had  happened.  I  found  that  the  four  depleted 
battalions  of  the  Legion  had  been  consolidated  into  two  regi- 
ments. The  six  companies  of  the  Second  Battalion  and  the 
four  companies  of  the  Fourth  had  been  formed  into  the  Fifty- 
Ninth  Alabama  Regiment,  and  four  companies  (A,  B,  C,  and 
D)  of  the  First  Battalion,  with  the  six  companies  of  the  Third, 
had  been  formed  into  the  Sixtieth  Alabama  Regiment.  The 
remaining  three  companies  (E,  F,  and  G)  of  the  First  Battal- 
ion had  been  organized  into  the  Forty-Third  Battalion  of  Ala- 
bama Sharpshooters.  Colonel  John  W.  A.  Sanford  was  made 
colonel  of  the  Sixtieth  Regiment,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Daniel 
S.  Troy  lieutenant  colonel,  and  Major  Hatch  Cook  major. 
According  to  military  usage,  the  colonel  carrying  the  larger 
number  of  companies  into  the  Sixtieth  Regiment  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  choosing  his  staff  officers.  This  left  me  without  a 
place  in  the  regiment.  I  was  disappointed,  but  had  no  just 
ground  of  complaint.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Troy  had  been  my 
friend  as  captain  of  Company  A  and  as  major  and  lieutenant 
colonel  of  the  First  Battalion.  He  directed  me  to  remain  with 
the  regiment  on  such  duty  as  might  be  assigned  me  until  he 
could  hear  from  the  War  Department,  to  which  he  had  sent  a 
communication  before  leaving  Chattanooga  recommending  me 
for  honorable  mention  and  for  promotion.  He  felt  sure,  he 
said,  that  I  would  be  assigned  to  duty  in  some  branch  of  the 
service.  Not  hearing  anything  from  his  recommendation  for 
some  weeks,  he  wrote  again,  sending  the  paper  up  through  the 
regular  channels,  with  the  approval  of  the  officials  through 
whose  hands  it  had  to  pass. 

EXCURSION  ACROSS  FRENCH  BROAD  RIVER. 

While  we  were  at  Dandridge  in  January  part  of  Long- 
street's  Corps,  under  General  Bushrod  Johnson,  accompanied 
by  Longstreet  himself,  made  an  expedition  across  French 
Broad  River  in  pursuit  of  a  Federal  party  sent  from  Knoxville. 


REMINISCENCES.  195 

On  this  excursion  I  had  my  first  and  only  full  view  of  General 
Longstreet.  The  most  exciting  thing  on  this  excursion  was 
the  fording  of  French  Broad  River.  At  the  point  of  crossing, 
the  river  is  separated  into  three  channels  by  some  islands,  each 
channel  being  about  seventy-five  or  eighty  yards  wide,  from 
three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  very  swift.  The  men  had  to  go 
across  ten  abreast  to  keep  from  being  washed  down  by  the 
current.  The  water  came  halfway  up  our  saddle  skirts.  My 
little  horse  found  it  hard  work  to  stand  up  against  the  force  of 
the  stream.  After  getting  across  and  going  a  few  miles,  we 
had  a  sharp  skirmish  with  the  retreating  enemy.  In  this  skir- 
mish my  friend  Captain  R.  A.  Middleton  was  dangerously 
wounded.  After  spending  two  or  three  days  on  the  eastern 
side  without  tents  or  baggage,  we  returned  to  Dandridge. 

As  Longstreet  was  cut  off  from  the  main  army  and  had  no 
railroad  connections  with  the  South  or  with  Virginia,  he  had 
to  depend  on  the  country  for  his  commissary  supplies.  This 
prevented  him  from  remaining  long  in  any  one  place.  The 
soldiers  built  huts  in  one  or  two  places,  but  soon  had  to  leave 
them  in  order  to  get  provisions  in  new  territory.  The  winter 
was  intensely  cold,  and  the  men  were  poorly  supplied  with 
clothing,  shoes,  and  blankets.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  suf- 
fering. 

There  was  another  trouble  besides  sickness  liable  to  grow 
out  of  the  unfavorable  conditions  of  camp  life.  Owing  to  in- 
sufficient clothing  for  necessary  changes  and  lack  of  adequate 
facilities  for  bathing,  some  of  the  men  became  infested  with 
body  lice,  a  most  disgusting  nuisance.  There  was  danger  of 
these  vermin  being  dropped  in  the  camp  and  spreading  among 
other  men.  So  much  afraid  of  this  was  I  that  I  went  outside 
of  the  encampment,  stripped  off  my  clothes,  examined  them 
thoroughly,  and  bathed  myself  in  a  pond  of  freezing  water 
while  the  cold  wind  whistled  around  me.  The  modern  Euro- 
pean soldiers  are  subjected  to  frightful  conditions,  but  their 
sanitation  is  much  better  looked  after  than  was  sometimes 
possible  among  the  Confederate  soldiers  in  1864. 


196  REMINISCENCES. 

THRKI;  MEN  SHOT  FOR  DESERTION. 

Another  incident  during  my  connection  with  Longstreet's 
Corps  was  a  mournful  sight  to  behold.  The  whole  command 
was  drawn  up  in  some  open  fields  to  witness  the  execution  of 
three  men  who  had  been  tried  by  a  court-martial  and  con- 
demned to  be  shot  for  desertion,  the  greatest  crime  known  in 
military  discipline.  A  squad  of  fourteen  men  had  been  detailed 
to  do  the  shooting.  That  these  men  should  not  know  which  one 
did  the  killing,  guns  were  handed  to  them  on  the  eve  of  the  exe- 
cution, every  other  one  loaded  with  a  blank  cartridge.  The 
three  deserters  were  led  out  blindfolded  and  made  to  kneel  with 
their  backs  to  the  squad.  At  the  command,  "Ready,  aim,  fire  !" 
the  condemned  men  fell  over  dead.  I  have  forgotten  to  what 
command  they  belonged.  They  were  not  Alabamians.  No 
soldier  of  the  Legion  was,  during  my  connection  with  it,  accused 
of  desertion  and  only  one  of  poltroonery,  a  fellow  who  shot 
himself  through  the  hand  in  order  to  get  a  discharge  from  the 
service,  as  was  believed  by  his  captain,  though  the  man  claimed 
that  it  was  accidental. 

During  the  last  year  of  the  war  great  pressure  was  brought 
to  bear  on  some  poor  fellows  on  account  of  the  suffering  of 
their  families  at  home.  To  this  pressure  some  men  did  yield. 
I  do  not  believe  that  any  private  pressure,  howrever  urgent,  can 
justify  a  breach  of  the  sacramentum,  or  military  oath,  when 
voluntarily  taken  in  defense  of  one's  country.  Some  honorable 
way  of  relief  should  be  found. 

DISILLUSIONED  OF  MY  DREAMS  OF  MILITARY  GLORY. 

After  weeks  of  weary  waiting,  the  communication  in  regard 
to  my  status  was  returned  by  some  official  of  the  \Yar  Depart- 
ment in  the  name  of  S.  Cooper,  Adjutant  General,  with  this 
indorsement :  "Xo  such  name  on  our  roster  as  Adjutant  John 
Massey."  This  disappointed  and  disillusioned  me  of  my 
dreams  of  military  glory.  This  convinced  me  that  the  Con- 
federate authorities  did  not  set  any  value  on  my  services  in  the 
field. 

I  had  in  my  pocket  a  letter  from  Dr.  Garland  inviting  me  for 


REMINISCENCES.  197 

the  third  time  to  return  to  the  University.  I  had  been  thinking 
all  along  that  I  was  serving  my  country  more  effectively  in  the 
field  than  I  could  at  the  institution.  Upon  this  unexpected  turn 
of  affairs  I  took  a  statement  from  Colonel  Troy,  with  Dr.  Gar- 
land's letter,  to  General  Longstreet's  headquarters  and  ob- 
tained a  passport  to  the  University.  The  action  of  the  War 
Department  set  me  free  to  return  to  the  position  which  had 
been  open  to  me  ever  since  I  left  it  in  June,  1862. 

Although  disappointed  at  the  time,  I  have  congratulated 
myself  ever  since  that  the  matter  turned  out  as  it  did.  I  believe 
that  there  was  a  good  Providence  in  it  all.  By  reviewing  my 
studies  and  teaching  a  year  in  the  University  I  was  better  pre- 
pared for  what  came  as  my  life  work  than  I  would  have  been 
by  remaining  in  the  field.  I  have  long  been  of  the  firm  belief 
that  God  had  in  store  for  me  something  better  in  helping  to 
make  good  men  and  women  than  I  would  have  had  in  seeking 
glory  through  a  profession  whose  object  is  the  destruction  of 
men.  Now,  in  my  eighty-second  year,  I  would  rather  feel  the 
consciousness  of  having  endeavored  to  inspire  several  thousand 
young  people  with  nobler  ideals  of  life  and  to  imbue  them  with 
the  just  fear  of  God  and  the  love  of  their  fellow  men  than  to 
have  won  the  privilege  of  wearing  the  title  of  major  general. 

I  have  had  some  satisfaction  in  finding  that  the  Confederate 
War  Department  did  have  my  name  on  its  roster,  as  appears 
in  the  records  published  after  the  war.  The  following  extract 
is  from  the  "Official  Records  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion," 
Series  I.,  Volume  XXX.,  Part  II.,  page  534: 

Roll  of  Honor,  First  Battalion,  Alabama  Legion  :  Adjutant  John  Mas- 
sey;  Private  John  H.  Connor,*  Company  A;  Private  J.  E.  Wright,  Com- 
pany B;  Private  James  M.  Gibson,  Company  C;  Private  B.  A.  Davis,* 
Company  D ;  Sergeant  J.  L.  Cox,*  Company  E ;  Private  A.  J.  Daw,*  Com- 
pany F. 

Mr.  Connor  went  into  the  fight  saying:  "I  shall  be  killed 
to-day."  He  fell  right  at  the  breastworks,  shot  in  the  fore- 
head. He  was  as  brave  a  man  as  ever  breathed.  The  above 

*Killed  in  battle. 


REMINISCENCES. 

seven  names  are  all  of  the  First  Battalion  that  are  mentioned, 
though  I  feel  sure  that  many  others  are  just  as  deserving  of 
public  mention. 

From  the  "Confederate  Military  History,"  published  in 
1899,  Volume  VII.,  pages  695  and  696,  the  following  extract 
is  taken : 

John  Massey,  LL.D.,  one  of  the  most  eminent  educators  of  Alabama, 
was  born  December  16,  1834,  and  was  graduated  at  the  University  of 
Alabama  in  1862.  .  .  .  He  enlisted  in  Hilliard's  Legion  and  was  ap- 
pointed adjutant  of  the  First  Battalion.  In  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  he 
was  distinguished  for  gallantry  and  won  a  place  on  the  roll  of  honor.  He 
was  twice  wounded  while  leading  his  battalion  in  the  last  charge  up  the 
heights  of  Snodgrass  Hill  on  the  evening  of  September  20,  1863.  Llewellyn 
A.  Shaver,  in  his  "History  of  the  Sixteenth  Alabama  Regiment,"  into 
which  part  of  the  First  Battalion  was  merged,  says:  "It  is  due  that  in- 
comparable soldier  and  gentleman,  John  Massey,  adjutant  of  the  First 
Battalion,  to  mention  the  fact  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  battalion  some- 
time after  the  battle  it  was  the  unhesitating  sentiment  of  all  that  his  gal- 
lantry in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  was  too  conspicuous  to  pass  unnoticed 
by  his  comrades  or  unrewarded  by  his  country,  and  accordingly  his  name 
was  subsequently  forwarded  to  the  War  Department  with  the  urgent  rec- 
ommendation for  promotion." 

I  have  no  regrets  for  having  gone  into  the  war.  In  going  I 
obeyed  some  of  my  best  impulses.  I  have  no  regrets  on  ac- 
count of  leaving  the  army  when  I  did.  On  retiring  I  obeyed 
the  call  of  duty  as  I  then  saw  it. 

In  this  connection  I  wish  to  state  that  I  am  under  lasting 
obligation  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  First  Battalion  for 
their  kind  and  respectful  treatment.  Of  Colonel  Thorington, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Holt,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Troy,  Surgeon 
Conrad  Wall,  Ordnance  Sergeant  William  H.  Micou,  and  Ser- 
geant Major  Keyes  I  have  already  made  special  mention.  I 
wish  also  to  add  to  these  Sergeant  Major  Llewellyn  A.  Shaver, 
who  was  my  sergeant  major  after  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Keyes.  His  fidelity  to  every  duty  imposed  secured  for  him  the 
cognomen,  "Shaver  the  Faithful."  After  passing  safely 
through  the  war,  he  led  the  life  of  a  useful  citizen  till  his  death, 
in  1912. 


REMINISCENCES.  199 

RETURN  TO  THE  UNIVERSITY. 

The  passport  was  granted  by  General  Longstreet  without 
any  question  or  hesitancy.  I  bade  farewell  to  my  friends, 
many  of  whom  I  never  saw  again.  I  had  to  return  through 
Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  I  reached  the  University  about  the 
last  of  February,  1864. 

During  the  years  of  my  college  course  it  had  been  my  inten- 
tion to  study  law.  As  far  as  I  could  spare  the  time  from  my 
regular  work  as  assistant  professor,  I  began  the  study  of  law 
under  Judge  W.  Moody,  the  father  of  Hon.  Frank  S.  Moody, 
of  Tuscaloosa.  The  Judge  was  the  son-in-law  of  Mrs.  Sims, 
of  whom  I  have  on  a  former  page  made  grateful  mention. 
Partly  owing  to  this  relation  to  my  friend  Mrs.  Sims  and  part- 
ly to  his  own  great  kindness,  he  was  exceedingly  obliging  in 
lending  his  law  books  and  in  directing  my  studies  during  the 
last  year  of  the  war. 

In  my  classes  in  the  University  this  year  of  1864-65  there 
were  a  number  of  young  men — too  young  to  go  into  the  war — 
who  have  since  risen  to  eminence,  among  them  Chief  Justice  J. 
R.  Dowdell,  Hon.  H.  S.  D.  Mallory,  and  Judge  Joseph  N. 
Miller.  When  young  Dowdell  came  to  the  University,  he  was 
small  and  very  youthful  in  appearance — too  young,  some 
thought,  to  be  a  cadet.  But  when  it  was  announced  that  he  was 
the  son  of  James  F.  Dowdell,  Dr.  Garland  said :  "I  know  there 
is  something  in  him  if  he  came  out  of  the  loins  of  James  F. 
Dowdell."  Mr.  Dowdell  had  graduated  under  the  Doctor  at 
Randolph-Macon  College. 

CAPTAIN  D.  POYNOR. 

My  roommate  at  this  time  (1864)  was  Captain  D.  Poynor, 
who  had  come  to  the  University  in  September,  1861,  as  In- 
structor of  Military  Tactics,  but  who  was  later  Assistant  in 
Mathematics.  I  had  not  become  intimate  with  him  till  I  re- 
turned to  the  University  and  was  invited  to  room  with  him. 
He  had  the  distinctive  traits  of  a  Virginian  of  the  best  type. 
He  was  born  in  Lawrenceville,  Brunswick  County,  Virginia, 
November  14,  1835,  and  was  graduated  from  the  Virginia 


_>oo  REMINISCENCES. 

Military  Institute  in  July,  1860.  He  was  a  man  of  dignity 
and,  to  strangers,  of  rather  reserved  temperament.  He  was  a 
man  of  fine  native  ability  and  had,  by  study  and  good  reading, 
become  well  informed  for  a  man  of  his  years.  He  was  tall, 
slender,  and  of  erect  stature,  the  fitting  counterpart  of  a  char- 
acter which  was  formed  on  principles  of  rectitude  and  inspired 
by  the  soul  of  honor.  Like  the  rest  of  us  mortals,  he  had  his 
temperamental  weaknesses.  His  bete  noir  was  that  demon 
which  haunts  but  never  kills,  a  tendency  to  indigestion.  I 
think  some  of  his  individual  traits  were  intensified  by  his 
malady.  Whatever  deficiencies  he  had  in  his  make-up  leaned 
to  virtue's  side,  a  candor  that  was  not  always  mixed  with  policy 
and  a  modesty  that  did  not  do  full  justice  to  his  ability.  Be- 
neath a  bearing  of  hauteur  that  sometimes  caused  him  to  be 
misunderstood,  there  was  a  kind  and  sympathetic  heart  when 
one  got  close  enough  to  him  to  feel  it.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Fraternity,  a  club  that  sprang  out  of  warm  personal  friend- 
ships and,  without  constitution  or  by-laws,  had  nothing  to  hold 
it  in  existence  but  the  affectionate  regard  existing  among  its 
members.  It  consisted  of  William  J.  Vaughn,  Eugene  A. 
Smith,  D.  Poynor,  Paul  F.  Tricon,  and  the  writer  of  these 
reminiscences,  together  with  several  young  lady  friends  who, 
I  suppose,  were  rather  more  than  honorary  members,  as  three 
of  them  afterwards  became  the  wives  of  three  of  the  members 
of  the  Fraternity.  I  mention  this  club  to  show  in  what  esteem 
Poynor  was  held  by  his  comrades. 

From  Captain  Poynor  I  learned  more  of  the  atmosphere  of 
the  Virginia  Military  Institute  and  of  the  characteristics  of 
some  of  its  professors  than  I  would  probably  ever  have  learned 
otherwise.  He  made  some  incidents  seem  very  vivid.  I  recall 
some  of  these  about  Major  Jackson,  who  afterwards  became 
famous  as  "Stonewall"  Jackson.  He  was  noted  for  his  habit 
of  sitting  for  long  periods  with  solemn  mien  and  folded  arms 
meditating,  a  prominent  feature  of  his  devotional  life.  He  was 
so  awkward  in  his  manners  as  to  be  the  butt  of  ridicule  and  so 
rigid  in  his  exactions  as  to  become  the  target  upon  which  of- 
fenders vented  their  spleen.  On  one  occasion  a  student  threw 


REMINISCENCES.  201 

a  heavy  weight,  barely  missing  the  Major  as  he  was  passing 
under  a  window.  The  Major  was  not  in  the  least  disturbed, 
merely  remarking :  "I  believe  he  intended  to  kill  me." 

Captain  Poynor  had  a  vivid  recollection  of  how  pleased 
Major  Jackson  was  when  he  was  getting  ready  to  take  charge 
of  a  body  of  Virginia  troops.  He  seemed  to  scent  "the  battle 
from  afar"  and  to  hear,  like  the  war  horse  described  in  Job, 
"the  thunder  and  the  shoutings."  He  looked  more  pleased 
than  Poynor  had  ever  seen  him.  The  prospect  of  war  trans- 
formed him  from  an  ungraceful  professor  into  a  veritable  son 
of  Mars,  making  a  much  more  admirable  figure  in  the  field  of 
war  than  he  had  been  in  the  dull  routine  of  college  life. 

There  must  be  latent  powers  in  some  men  that  never  appear 
till  the  proper  occasion  brings  them  out.  I  here  recall  a  state- 
ment of  General  Dick  Taylor's  published  in  the  North  Ameri- 
can Review:  "We  cannot  tell  how  great  Stonewall  Jackson  was. 
He  measured  fully  up  to  every  occasion.  We  do  not  know  how 
much  more  brilliantly  his  genius  would  have  shone  if  it  had 
been  tested  by  greater  occasions."  Something  of  this  latent 
power  was  developed  in  General  Grant  and  General  Forrest. 
General  Lee's  genius  was  already  known,  at  least  to  General 
Scott,  who  said :  "Lee  is  the  greatest  military  genius  on  the 
American  Continent." 

Captain  Poynor  has  moved  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  private 
life  and  has  reared  a  large  and  excellent  family.  One  of  his 
sons  is  an  Episcopal  minister,  two  others  are  merchants  and 
farmers  and  are  filially  caring  for  their  parents  in  their  old 
age,  and  two  of  his  daughters  are  graduates  of  the  University 
and  are  filling  responsible  positions  in  prominent  schools  of  the 
State.  I  would  say :  "A  blessing  on  you,  my  friend !  You 
have  served  your  generation  better  than  many  a  man  who  has 
climbed  into  public  position." 

PROFESSOR  CRAWFORD  H.  TOY,  CAPTAIN  JOHN  HOWARD  MUR- 
FEE,  AND  MR.  PAUL  F.  TRICOU. 

On  my  return  to  the  University  I  found  three  new  men  con- 
nected with  the  work  of  instruction  and  administration — Craw- 


-02  REMINISCENCES. 

ford  II.  Toy,  Captain  John  Howard  Murfee,  and  Paul  F.  Tri- 
COLI.  Professor  Toy  had  taken  the  place  of  Professor  Benagh 
in  the  chair  of  Mixed  Mathematics.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Virginia  and  was  a  man  highly  gifted  in  linguis- 
tic talents,  as  has  been  stated  by  Dr.  Gross  Alexander  and  as 
his  subsequent  career  plainly  shows;  but  he  was  not  considered 
the  equal  of  Professor  Benagh  in  the  Department  of  Mixed 
Mathematics. 

Being  an  ordained  Baptist  minister,  he  was  Chaplain  of  the 
University.  One  part  of  his  duties  was  to  conduct  prayers  in 
the  Rotunda  before  breakfast  each  morning  and  to  preach  to 
the  corps  occasionally  on  Sunday  afternoons.  His  sermons 
were  always  intellectual,  but,  as  the  boys  thought,  very  dry. 
His  prayers  were  rather  long  and  almost  always  included  a 
petition  for  the  heathen.  One  morning  he  detained  the  corps 
longer  than  usual.  The  officer  of  the  day  was  waiting  at  the 
door  of  the  mess  hall  for  the  corps  to  come  to  breakfast.  See- 
ing the  sergeant  of  the  guard  coming  from  the  Rotunda,  he 
inquired:  "How  long  before  the  corps  will  be  out?''  The  ser- 
geant replied:  "Some  time  yet.  Old  Toy  has  just  got  to  the 
heathen." 

For  many  years  Dr.  Toy  has  been  Professor  in  Harvard 
University  and  is  an  authority  on  Sanskrit  and  Eastern  lan- 
guages. He,  D.  Poynor,  W.  J.  Vaughn,  B.  F.  Meek,  E.  A. 
Smith,  P.  F.  Tricou,  J.  H.  Murfee,  and  the  writer  took  their 
meals  together  in  a  small  room  on  the  second  floor  of  the  mess 
hall  building  from  February,  1864,  to  April  3,  1865.  Dr.  Toy 
contributed  to  the  pleasure  of  our  association  by  his  dignified 
and  intelligent  conversation.  I  am  glad  to  have  known  so  dis- 
tinguished a  gentleman. 

Captain  Murfee  was  the  State  Captain  of  Company  C  during 
this  time.  He  gallantly  led  the  skirmish  line  against  the  Fed- 
erals on  the  night  of  April  3,  1865,  and  was  severely  wounded 
in  this  action,  which  will  be  described  in  the  next  chapter. 

Mr.  Tricou  was  a  young  man  of  French  extraction.  He 
had  gone  into  the  army  with  some  company  from  New  Or- 
leans and  was  severely  wounded  and  temporarily  disabled  for 


REMINISCENCES.  203 

field  service.  He  had  been  employed  by  the  University  as  book- 
keeper. For  this  position  he  was  well  qualified.  He  was 
bright,  amiable,  and  clean  in  his  conversation  and  habits  of  life 
— altogether  a  lovable  young  man,  considered  worthy  to  be  a 
member  of  our  Fraternity.  He  returned  to  New  Orleans  after 
the  war  and  died  in  1901.  I  never  saw  him  after  we  separated 
in  the  spring  of  1865. 

DR.  THOMAS  OSMOND  SUMMERS. 

Also  during  this  notable  year  of  1864,  on  my  return  to  the 
University,  I  found  Dr.  Thomas  Osmond  Summers,  pastor  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  He  had  been  connected  with  the  Pub- 
lishing House;  and  when  the  Federals  occupied  Nashville  and 
the  Publishing  House,  Dr.  Summers  came  to  Tuscaloosa  by 
private  conveyance  through  North  Alabama  over  "the  moun- 
tains of  Gilboa,"  as  he  called  them.  He  was  a  very  learned 
man,  styled  "a  walking  library"  by  some  of  his  friends.  He 
was  peculiar,  almost  eccentric,  in  his  manners.  He  was  my  pas- 
tor during  my  second  connection  with  the  University.  He  was 
very  cordial  and  frequently  invited  me  to  his  house  to  dinner 
after  church  on  Sundays.  He  was  very  candid  in  criticizing 
my  faults,  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  needed  much  pruning.  He 
did  this  in  so  kindly  a  manner  that  I  felt  grateful  instead  of  tak- 
ing offense.  It  is  not  every  well-meaning  person  who  can  chop 
off  our  excrescences  without  so  wounding  as  to  do  more  harm 
than  good.  This  service  Dr.  Summers  could  render  without 
losing  his  hold  on  the  subject.  I  think  I  am  under  obligation 
to  make  special  mention  of  him. 

He  was  born  in  Dorsetshire,  England,  in  1812;  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1830  and  was  admitted  into  the  Baltimore  Con- 
ference in  1835;  went  to  the  republic  of  Texas  and  was  active 
in  the  organization  of  the  Texas  Conference  in  1840;  came  to 
Alabama  in  1843,  soliciting  money  for  Texas  Methodism. 
While  on  this  tour  he  exhibited  some  Texas  frogs,  showing 
his  taste  for  zoology,  such  taste  as  he  had  for  nearly  everything 
else  in  the  universe.  He  visited  Tuscaloosa,  where  he  met  Miss 
Marsilla  Sexton.  She  was,  according  to  an  old  Methodist  cus- 


jo4  REMINISCENCES. 

torn,  recommended  to  him  as  a  suitable  young  woman  for  his 
future  wife.  He  married  her  in  1844  and  was  stationed  in 
Tuscaloosa. 

When  I  knew  him  in  1864,  he  was  in  his  second  pastorate  in 
that  charge.  After  the  war  Dr.  Summers  returned  to  Nash- 
ville and  was  editor  of  the  Christian  Advocate  till  1878.  In 
1875  he  was  elected  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  in  Van- 
derbilt  University,  and  there  he  remained  till  his  death,  in  1882. 
While  he  was  a  man  of  prodigious  learning,  more  learned  in 
some  respects  than  Dr.  Manly  or  Dr.  Garland,  he  was  not  the 
equal  of  either  of  these  elect  sons  of  humanity  in  power  to  rule 
men.  He  kept  his  membership  in  the  Alabama  Conference  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  So  we  may  claim  him  as  an  Alabamian. 

During  this  memorable  year  I  became  engaged  to  Miss  Fre- 
donia  A.  Taylor,  whose  attractive  face  had  arrested  my  atten- 
tion, whose  brilliant  talents  captivated  my  imagination,  whose 
candor  compelled  my  respect,  and  whose  charming  personality 
won  my  affections. 

PROFESSORS  E.  R.  DICKSOX,  B.  F.  MEEK,  AND  H.  M. 

SOMERVILLE. 

I  found  Professor  E.  R.  Dickson,  Professor  B.  F.  Meek,  and 
Professor  H.  M.  Somerville  teaching  in  the  University.  Pro- 
fessor Dickson  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College.  He  had  taught 
in  the  Tuskegee  Female  College  before  going  to  the  University. 
He  was  a  man  of  ripe  scholarship,  especially  in  philological 
subjects.  From  him  I  got  the  idea  of  tracing  many  of  our 
English  words  back  to  their  origin  in  the  Greek  and  Latin 
languages,  a  plan  I  used  with  my  classes  in  teaching  those  sub- 
jects. 

After  the  war  Professor  Dickson  went  to  Mobile,  taught  a 
private  school  awhile,  and  finally  was  elected  Superintendent 
of  the  Public  Schools  of  Mobile  County.  In  this  position  he 
remained  many  years.  His  oldest  son,  Rockwell,  was  a  pupil 
of  mine  in  Mobile  and  was  distinguished  for  his  originality  in 
mathematics. 

Professor  Dickson  was  regarded  by  some  people  as  hard, 


REMINISCENCES.  205 

uncivil,  and  boorish  in  his  manners.  This  was  an  instance  of 
how  much  a  man  may  be  misunderstood.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
visiting  him  and  his  family  in  his  home  out  at  the  end  of  Dau- 
phin Way.  On  one  occasion  my  family  spent  the  night  with 
him.  I  have  never  seen  a  more  genial  household.  Mrs.  Dick- 
son  played  the  organ,  and  we  had  some  singing,  in  which  Mr. 
Dickson  joined  with  much  zest.  When  Fannie  J.  Crosby's 
hymn, 

"Pass  me  not,  O  gentle  Saviour, 

Hear  my  humble  cry; 
While  on  others  thou  art  calling, 
Do  not  pass  me  by," 

was  sung,  he  said  with  manifest  feeling:  "That  is  my  favorite 
hymn."  At  the  core  he  was  true  and  warm-hearted.  He  was 
a  brave,  independent  man  whom  you  could  drive  back  into  his 
shell  by  cool  treatment,  but  whom  you  could  draw  out  into  one 
of  the  sunniest  of  men  by  turning  your  kind  side  to  him. 

Professor  Benjamin  F.  Meek,  a  younger  brother  of  Alexan- 
der Beaufort  Meek,  had  been  a  teacher  in  Barton  Academy  in 
Mobile,  but  was  now  assistant  professor  in  the  University.  He 
was  a  man  of  decided  literary  taste  and  extensive  culture.  In 
physique  he  was  very  large  and  angular,  with  light  hair,  blond 
complexion,  and  a  peculiar  nervous  movement  of  the  head  and 
eyes  that  gave  him  a  restless  air.  He  was  brave,  sensitive,  and 
easily  offended,  but  just  as  ready  to  offer  an  apology  and  for- 
give an  offense  when  reparation  was  duly  made.  I  saw  this 
exhibited  on  one  occasion  when  he  had  misunderstood  a  re- 
mark made  by  a  friend  and  had  answered  in  a  cutting  reply. 
After  two  or  three  spirited  rejoinders  had  been  passed  between 
the  two  men  and  they  were  in  the  act  of  coming  into  conflict,  I 
stood  between  them,  holding  them  apart  at  arms'  length  and 
affirming:  "Gentlemen,  you  have  misunderstood  each  other." 
I  said  to  the  friend  who  had  made  the  first  remark :  "You  did 
not  mean  any  offense  by  your  first  remark,  did  you?"  He  an- 
swered: "No.  I  am  surprised  that  he  took  it  so."  I  then 
asked  Mr.  Meek:  "Will  you  take  back  the  offensive  remark 
you  made?"  He  replied:  "Yes;  and  I  will  apologize,  as  no 


206  REMINISCENCES. 

offense  was  intended."  As  soon  as  I  could  get  each  of  the  sev- 
eral offensive  words  retracted,  I  stated :  "Now,  gentlemen, 
there  is  nothing  between  you.  Shake  hands  and  let  bygones 
be  bygones."  They  did  and  were  friends,  just  as  they  had 
been  before. 

This  incident  shows  how  conflicts  arise  and  how  they  may 
be  settled  among  brave,  honest  men.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  settle 
a  fuss  among  cowards. 

After  the  war,  when  the  University  had  been  restored  to  its 
normal  condition,  Professor  Meek  was  placed  in  the  chair  of 
English  Literature,  a  position  which  he  filled  with  marked  abil- 
ity till  his  death.  He  was  a  good  man,  who  felt  the  responsi- 
bility of  inculcating  a  religious  spirit  in  the  institution.  He 
persisted  in  going  to  the  chapel  and  opening  the  morning  ses- 
sions witli  religious  service  as  long  as  he  was  able  to  walk. 
Such  men's  influence  does  not  die  with  them. 

Professor  Henderson  M.  Somerville  was  a  man  of  decided 
talent.  This  was  shown  not  only  in  the  role  of  pedagogue,  but 
at  the  bar  and  on  the  bench  in  later  years.  During  the  early 
years  of  Reconstruction  it  was  a  common  thing  to  have  white 
men  arraigned  before  the  United  States  Court  under  Judge 
Busteed,  a  Radical  judge  noted  for  his  arbitrary  and  harsh 
rulings.  He  was  the  analogue  of  Lord  Jeffreys,  of  England. 
On  flimsy  and  one-sided  evidence  he  frequently  sent  the  ac- 
cused to  the  Dry  Tortugas.  In  one  of  these  trials  Mr.  Som- 
erville was  employed  as  counsel  for  the  defendants.  The  judge 
reluctantly  granted  him  only  an  unreasonably  short  time  to 
prepare  his  case,  but  he  presented  it  in  such  a  masterly  way  as 
to  secure  the  release  of  his  clients  and  make  a  fine  reputation 
for  ability  as  an  attorney.  He  became  distinguished  as  a  jurist, 
whose  career  was  closed  by  death  in  1915. 

FIGHT  AT  CHEHAW. 

At  the  commencement  in  June,  1864,  the  cadets  were  fur- 
loughed  to  rendezvous  in  Selma  about  the  middle  of  July. 
Governor  Watts  attended  the  commencement  and  made  a  pa- 
triotic address.  As  he  was  leaving  for  home  he  heard  of  Rous- 


REMINISCENCES.  207 

seau's  raid  through  Northeast  Alabama.  He  hurried  back  to 
Montgomery  and  there  learned  of  the  near  approach  of  the 
raiders.  He  called  together  all  the  cadets  who  lived  in  or  near 
the  city  and  those  who  were  passing  through  on  their  way 
home,  organized  them  into  a  company,  and  sent  them  with  the 
Home  Guards  of  the  city  on  a  special  train  to  Chehaw,  where 
they  met  the  raiders  in  a  spirited  action  and  turned  them  away 
from  Montgomery  and  no  doubt  saved  the  city  from  destruc- 
tion. Cadet  Robert  J.  McCreary,  of  Evergreen,  Alabama,  re- 
ceived a  dangerous  wound  in  the  breast  from  which  he  finally 
recovered,  and  Cadet  William  B.  Gilmer  received  a  severe 
wound  in  the  knee  which  grievously  lamed  him  for  life.  I 
knew  him  well  through  his  long  and  upright  life  and  had  the 
honor  of  graduating  his  daughter,  Miss  Leonora  Gilmer,  in 
1901.  There  were  some  other  casualties,  among  them  a  young 
man  from  Montgomery  by  the  name  of  Theodore  Bethea,  who 
was  killed. 

I  once  heard  the  remark  made  that  it  was  a  pity  to  be  killed 
in  a  little  obscure  backwoods  skirmish.  I  have  taken  some 
pains  to  give  .the  details  accurately ;  for  the  subjects  of  them 
deserve  as  much  credit  as  if  they  had  fallen  on  any  one  of  the 
world-renowned  fields  of  Chancellorsville,  Chickamauga,  or 
Gettysburg.  Their  honor  lies  not  in  the  greatness  of  the  battle, 
but  in  their  prompt  obedience  and  in  their  fine  spirit  of  valor. 
On  account  of  their  prompt  response  to  his  call  and  their  gal- 
lantry in  the  fight,  the  Governor  extended  the  furloughs  of 
these  cadets  for  a  few  days.  On  the  expiration  of  the  fur- 
loughs they  all  but  one  reported  for  duty  in  Selma. 

CORPS  SENT  TO  BLUE  MOUNTAIN,  POLLARD,  AND  BLAKELY. 

The  corps  was  soon  moved  from  Selma  to  Blue  Mountain, 
then  the  terminus  of  the  Selma,  Rome,  and  Dalton  Railroad 
and  one  mile  above  the  present  city  of  Anniston.  After  camp- 
ing here  a  few  days,  we  were  moved  as  a  guard  to  Coosa  River 
Bridge.  Early  in  August  we  moved  back  to  Selma  and  up  the 
river  to  Montgomery,  where  the  corps  was  reviewed  by  the 
Governor,  and  that  evening  took  the  train  to  Pollard. 


2o8  REMINISCENCES. 

On  our  arrival  in  Pollard  we  found  several  companies  of 
militia  composed  of  old  men,  too  old  and  infirm  to  be  in  the 
regular  service.  They  had  no  officers  who  knew  anything 
about  military  tactics.  They  were  armed  with  such  old  guns 
as  they  could  pick  up.  Colonel  Murfee  was  placed  in  command 
of  all  the  troops  at  this  point.  He  ordered  me  to  take  charge 
of  the  militia  companies.  I  found  that  they  could  not  drill 
with  their  stiff,  rheumatic,  and  sore  legs.  This  was  a  disap- 
pointment to  me.  I  had  been  so  accustomed  to  the  drill  in  the 
corps  of  cadets  and  in  the  army  that  I  did  not  think  much  of  a 
command  that  could  not  move  with  promptness  and  precision 
at  any  order  that  might  be  given.  If  we  should  be  attacked  in 
our  position,  these  old  fathers  might  shoot  as  best  they  could 
with  their  old  guns;  but  if  we  should  have  to  move  forward  to 
make  an  attack,  I  did  not  see  how  they  could  advance,  and  I 
was  sure  that  they  would  make  a  poor  appearance  in  a  retreat 
such  as  we  had  to  make  out  of  Kentucky.  I  felt  the  great  dif- 
ference in  the  efficiency  of  these  old  undisciplined  militiamen 
and  that  of  the  Legion  which  I  had  helped  to  lead  up  Snod- 
grass  Hill  the  year  before. 

A  little  later  the  corps  moved  to  Old  Blakely,  where  a  detail 
of  cadets  was  stationed  on  guard  duty  at  General  Liddell's 
headquarters,  in  the  old  courthouse.  After  spending  several 
weeks  around  Blakely,  Saluda  Hill,  and  Pollard,  expecting  an 
attack  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Mobile  River,  we  were  ordered 
back  to  Montgomery  and  furloughed  for  a  few  days  with  or- 
ders to  assemble  at  the  University  for  the  approaching  session. 

This  year  of  1864-65  was  one  of  much  uncertainty  and  anx- 
iety. About  the  middle  of  December  Mobile  was  thought  to 
be  in  imminent  danger.  The  corps  was  ordered  to  the  city  to 
aid  in  its  defense.  The  trip  was  made  on  the  steamboat  Ger- 
trude during  an  intensely  cold  spell,  when  everything  was  cov- 
ered with  snow  and  sleet.  The  boys  were  in  high  glee  over  the 
prospect  of  active  service.  Before  leaving  the  University  they 
were  furnished  with  three  days'  rations.  Many  of  them  ate 
the  whole  supply  the  first  day  and  had  nothing  to  eat  the  next 
two  days.  When  they  reached  the  city,  they  were  so  hungry 


REMINISCENCES.  209 

that  they  eagerly  ran  after  the  old  women  who  were  selling 
ginger  cakes  around  the  docks.  During  their  stay  of  about 
ten  days  they  were  stationed  out  at  Spring  Hill.  The  most 
striking  service  they  were  called  on  to  render  was  to  escort 
Admiral  Raphael  Semmes  from  the  railroad  station  to  his 
his  home  on  his  return  after  the  destruction  of  the  Alabama. 
As  no  attack  was  made  on  the  city,  the  corps  was  ordered 
back  to  the  University. 

SENT  WITH  GUARD  TO  NORTH  ALABAMA. 

Provisions  were  getting  scarce,  not  only  in  the  army,  but  also 
at  the  University.  We  had  to  get  our  flour  from  mills  in  North 
Alabama  and  had  to  haul  it  in  our  own  wagons.  Bushwhack- 
ers and  robbers  infested  these  northern  counties,  taking  horses 
and  any  other  property  they  could  capture,  sometimes  commit- 
ting arson  and  murder.  It  was  dangerous  to  send  teams  with- 
out a  strong  guard.  I  was  sent  in  command  of  a  squad  of  ca- 
dets to  get  a  supply  of  flour  from  one  of  the  mills  not  far  from 
where  the  city  of  Birmingham  is  now  located.  It  required 
about  a  week  to  make  these  trips.  While  we  were  in  this  re- 
gion we  kept  constantly  on  the  alert  and  at  night  selected  a 
suitable  position  for  defense,  tied  our  teams  a  little  distance 
from  the  wagons,  and  slept  on  our  arms  close  to  the  teams,  with 
one  man  always  on  guard.  We  went  well  armed.  Thus  pro- 
tected, no  harm  ever  came  to  the  University  teams,  while  depre- 
dations were  quite  common  in  that  section.  I  mention  this  to 
show  what  a  deplorable  state  the  country  was  in. 

Many  were  beginning  to  feel  that  the  only  hopes  of  the 
Southern  cause  centered  in  General  Lee  and  his  army.  How- 
ever dark  every  prospect  seemed,  our  faith  still  stood  firm  in 
this  incomparable  man.  Our  faith  was  not  misplaced;  for, 
after  everything  finally  crumbled  away  from  him,  when  in  the 
history  of  the  world  did  a  commander  ever  rise  so  gloriously 
out  of  defeat? 

14 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

University  Burned — Members  of  Corps  Wounded — March  to  Marion — 
Corps  Disbanded — Starting  to  Join  General  Lee's  Army — The  Assassi- 
nation of  President  Lincoln — Back  to  Choctaw  County — The  School  at 
Mount  Sterling — The  Oath  of  Allegiance — Rev.  J.  \V.  Rush — Marriage 
to  Miss  Fredonia  A.  Taylor — The  Taylor  Family. 

CONDITIONS  were  unfavorable  for  doing  college  work. 
Indeed,  college  work  would  have  been  impossible  if  we 
had  not  become  accustomed  to  this  chronic  state  of  uncertainly 
and  impending  danger.  We  could  not  remain  keyed  up  to  high 
tension  all  the  time.  For  several  months  a  guard  had  been  kept 
at  the  bridge  over  the  river  and  on  all  the  roads  leading  into 
Tuscaloosa.  This  guard  was  made  up  alternately  of  a  detail 
from  the  corps  of  the  cadets,  who  performed  the  duty  one  day, 
and  of  a  like  detail  from  the  Home  Guards,  who  performed  the 
service  the  next  day.  The  night  the  Federals  entered  the  city 
the  Home  Guards  were  on  duty.  So  we  managed  to  go  on 
with  our  work  till  Monday  night,  April  3,  1865.  We  went  to 
bed  that  night,  as  usual,  knowing  that  guards  were  on  duty  at 
the  bridge  and  on  all  the  roads. 

At  midnight  the  long  roll  was  sounded  with  alarming  vigor. 
Cadet  Captain  Sam  Will  John,  who  was  awake,  heard  Dr.  Gar- 
land running  along  the  walk  calling  out :  "Beat  the  long  roll. 
The  Yankees  are  in  town."  The  corps,  consisting  of  three 
hundred  cadets,  was  promptly  formed  and  marched  down  Main 
Street  in  quick  time.  Colonel  Murfee  threw  out  a  line  of  skir- 
mishers which  was  gallantly  led  by  Captain  John  Howard 
Murfee,  who  drove  back  a  detachment  of  Federals  toward  the 
river.  The  Colonel  also  ordered  me  to  take  two  or  three  men 
and  go  down  the  back  street  between  Main  and  the  river,  to 
see  that  the  enemy  should  not  come  in  unawares  behind  the 
corps.  This  street  ran  by  Dr.  Leach's,  parallel  with  Main,  and 
at  right  angles  to  the  street  leading  to  the  bridge.  Professor 
W.  J.  Vaughn  and  P.  F.  Tricou  accompanied  me.  As  we 
passed  Dr.  Leach's  we  could  see  in  the  starlight  a  large  num- 
(210) 


REMINISCENCES.  211 

ber  of  carriages  and  buggies  standing  around  the  yard  without 
any  horses  hitched  to  them.  About  the  time  we  entered  this 
back  street  we  heard  sharp  firing  on  Main  Street,  which  ceased 
after  a  few  rounds.  As  we  proceeded  we  observed  no  sign  of 
any  one  till  we  reached  the  corner  of  Washington  Hall.  As 
soon  as  I  cleared  the  corner  I  heard  a  voice  in  a  sharp  tone  call 
out:  "Who  goes  there?"  I  gave  my  name  promptly,  as  I  knew 
the  voice  to  be  that  of  Ed  Vaughan,  a  former  college  mate. 
"Hello,  John,"  he  said.  "I  came  within  an  ace  of  shooting 
you.  It  has  not  been  a  minute  since  the  Yankees  were  shooting 
at  me  from  this  corner."  After  the  firing  ceased  on  Main 
Street,  everything  was  still.  In  a  few  minutes  the  corps  had 
turned  from  Main  into  the  street  running  to  the  river  bridge 
and  was  drawn  up  in  line  across  the  street.  There  was  an  om- 
inous silence.  After  waiting  a  minute  or  two,  I  said  to  the 
officer  at  the  head  of  the  column :  "I  will  go  down  toward  the 
river  and  reconnoiter.  Tell  the  boys  not  to  shoot  while  I  am 
in  front."  As  I  started  Ed  and  Clay  Vaughan  followed  me, 
talking.  I  reminded  them  to  keep  quiet,  as  the  enemy  would 
locate  us  by  our  voices.  I  went  to  the  right,  one  of  the 
Vaughans  took  the  center,  and  the  other  the  left  side  of  the 
street.  I  think  we  had  gone  about  sixty  or  seventy  yards 
when  I  heard  a  voice  with  an  Irish  brogue  call  out :  "Who  goes 
there  ?"  We  made  no  reply.  The  voice  came  again :  "Who 
goes  there?"  Clay  Vaughan  in  a  clear  voice  answered:  "A 
Rebel."  I  heard  the  click  of  muskets  a  few  steps  ahead  and 
knew  what  was  coming.  I  raised  my  gun  to  take  aim  at  the 
blaze  which  came  as  quick  as  a  thought.  We  all  three  fired  at 
the  blaze.  The  whole  Federal  squad  fired  at  us.  The  cadets 
turned  loose  a  volley,  filling  the  street  with  bullets  as  thick  as 
hailstones  in  a  thunderstorm.  We  were  between  the  fires,  but 
none  of  us  was  struck. 

In  a  few  moments  the  firing  ceased,  and  we  returned  to  the 
corps.  I  was  surprised  to  see  a  soldier  dressed  in  blue  stand- 
ing near  the  head  of  the  corps  and,  a  few  feet  away,  Dr.  Gar- 
land and  Colonel  Murfee  in  very  earnest  conversation  in  an 
undertone  with  a  Confederate  officer. 


212  REMINISCENCES. 

In  a  moment  or  two  Colonel  Murfee,  without  a  word  of  ex- 
planation, marched  us  back  to  the  University  in  quick  time.  I 
was  mystified  till  the  matter  was  explained.  The  Confederate 
officer  was  Captain  Carpenter,  who  had  that  night  been  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Emily  Leach.  The  vehicles  I  saw  at  Dr.  Leach's 
door  had  brought  the  wedding  guests.  The  Federals  had  sur- 
prised the  guard  at  the  bridge,  had  entered  the  town,  captured 
two  pieces  of  artillery  and  all  the  horses,  including  those  at  the 
wedding  party.  They  had  also  taken  Captain  Carpenter  pris- 
oner and  carried  him  to  General  Croxton,  at  the  bridge.  Gen- 
eral Croxton  and  Captain  Carpenter  were  both  from  Lexing- 
ton, Kentucky,  and  knew  each  other  well.  The  Captain  in- 
formed the  General  that  he  had  just  been  married  and  request- 
ed to  be  sent  under  guard  to  inform  his  bride  that,  though  a 
prisoner,  he  was  safe  and  would  not  be  harmed.  On  his  return 
from  Dr.  Leach's  he  called  Dr.  Garland  and  Colonel  Murfee 
aside  and  told  them  that  the  Federals  were  fourteen  hundred 
strong,  that  they  held  the  bridge  and  were  fortified  behind  cot- 
ton bales,  that  it  would  be  a  useless  sacrifice  of  life  to  attack  so 
large  a  force  of  seasoned  soldiers  with  only  three  hundred 
young  boys,  and  advised  the  Doctor  and  the  Colonel  to  take  the 
corps  away  as  soon  as  possible.  Under  the  circumstances  Dr. 
Garland  ordered  the  cadets  marched  away. 

On  reaching  the  University  we  were  ordered  to  get  our  over- 
coats, fill  our  haversacks  with  crackers  from  the  commissary 
store  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  be  ready  to  move  at  the  com- 
mand. By  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  were  on  the  march 
toward  King's  Bridge,  about  eight  miles  east  of  Tuscaloosa. 
We  crossed  the  bridge,  tore  up  the  floor,  and  ascended  a  hill 
covered  with  thick  woods  and  placed  ourselves  in  position  to 
ward  off  an  attack  in  case  we  should  be  pursued. 

Early  in  the  day  we  heard  the  explosion  of  the  magazines 
and  saw  the  smoke  ascending  from  the  burning  of  the  Univer- 
sity buildings.  Mrs.  Garland,  by  her  personal  efforts,  saved  the 
President's  house,  which  the  raiders  were  setting  on  fire,  and 
Mrs.  Chapman  saved  the  Observatory.  But  for  the  heroic  ef- 
forts of  these  ladies  at  their  own  personal  risk,  it  is  probable 


REMINISCENCES.  213 

that  every  building  belonging  to  the  University  would  have 
been  swept  away  in  a  general  conflagration. 

We  made  our  breakfast  on  crackers  and  spent  a  dismal  day 
on  this,  the  4th  of  April,  1865.  During  the  morning  Dr.  Gar- 
land assembled  the  officers  for  a  council  of  war.  It  was  decided 
to  join  General  Forrest  in  Selma,  if  possible. 

On  the  march  out  of  town  Fred  DuBrutz,  of  Choctaw  Coun- 
ty, came  to  me  and  said :  "Captain,  a  number  of  us  have  resolved 
to  go  back  and  make  a  Thermopylae  of  it.  We  want  you  to  lead 
us.  We  don't  like  to  leave  this  way."  I  answered :  "Neither 
do  I ;  but  the  first  duty  of  a  soldier  is  to  obey  orders,  and  we  are 
under  orders." 

MEMBERS  OF  THE  CORPS  WOUNDED. 

In  the  skirmishing  on  Main  Street  the  following  members 
of  the  corps  were  wounded :  Captain  J.  H.  Murf ee,  seriously  in 
the  ankle ;  Cadet  A.  T.  Kendrick,  slightly  in  the  forehead ;  Ca- 
det W.  M.  King,  seriously  in  both  legs;  Cadet  W.  R.  May, 
dangerously  in  the  breast.  Captain  Murfee  was  carried  to  the 
residence  of  Mrs.  Owen;  King,  to  the  Methodist  College,  in 
which  his  sister  was  a  student.  Kendrick  was  able  to  remain 
with  the  corps.  May  was  kindly  cared  for  in  the  city.  They 
all  finally  recovered. 

MARCH  TO  MARION — CORPS  DISBANDED. 

About  dusk  in  the  evening  of  April  4  the  corps  was  drawn 
up  in  line  and  led  in  prayer  by  Professor  Toy.  I  heard  the 
remark :  "That  was  the  best  prayer  I  ever  heard  Professor  Toy 
make."  The  prayer  was  a  good  one,  as  all  his  prayers  were. 
I  suspect  that  the  reason  this  prayer  seemed  the  best  lay  in  an 
attitude  of  mind  more  appreciative  than  when  his  other  prayers 
were  heard  in  the  Rotunda,  just  before  breakfast,  with  no  ene- 
my near.  Soon  after  the  prayer  we  set  out  toward  Selma. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  features  of  this  march  of 
three  days :  We  halted  at  Hardy  Clements's  long  enough  to 
have  dinner  cooked  for  three  hundred  hungry  cadets.  We 
slept  one  night  in  a  ginhouse  and  "pickroom"  during  a  very 


214  REMINISCENCES. 

heavy  rainfall.  The  next  day  \ve  found  a  creek  overflowing1 
the  lowland  for  several  hundred  yards,  through  which  we  had 
to  wade  in  order  to  get  on  the  bridge.  Notwithstanding  sloppy 
roads  and  scanty  rations,  the  corps  marched  into  Marion  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  third  day  in  fine  style  and  held  a  dress  parade 
on  the  courthouse  square.  The  patriotic  citizens  received  us 
with  great  cordiality,  took  many  of  us  into  their  homes,  and 
provided  comfortable  quarters  for  all.  We  shall  look  in  vain 
for  a  community  whose  generous  hospitality  surpasses  that  of 
Marion.  On  our  arrival  we  learned  that  Selma  had  fallen  on 
Sunday  night,  April  2 ;  that  General  Forrest  had  cut  his  way 
out  and  had  passed  through  Marion  two  days  before.  With 
no  mails,  no  telegraph,  no  mounted  couriers,  we  could  not  find 
General  Forrest  or  any  other  Confederate  commander.  We 
could  not  return  to  the  University,  for  it  \vas  in  ashes.  We 
had  no  commissary  stores  to  furnish  our  rations.  We  could 
not  long  remain  quartered  on  the  kind  people  whose  stock  of 
provisions  was  growing  less  every  day.  After  waiting  several 
days  without  finding  any  way  to  relieve  the  urgency  of  the 
situation.  Dr.  Garland  disbanded  the  corps  with  orders  to  as- 
semble at  Auburn  in  thirty  days.  In  the  meantime  the  surren- 
der of  Lee  on  the  Qth  and  of  Johnston  on  the  26th  made  nu- 
gatory the  order  to  reassemble.  Thus  ended  the  career  of  the 
First  Alabama  Corps  of  Cadets.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  writer 
to  witness  great  enthusiasm  over  its  origin  in  1860,  to  watch 
with  absorbing  interest  its  checkered  and  stormy  life  of  five 
years,  and  to  experience  genuine  sorrow  at  its  untimely  end 
amid  the  gloom  of  April,  1865.  Reluctantly  leaving  its  Alma 
Mater  in  ashes  and  its  native  land  bathed  in  tears,  it  vanished, 
like  the  spirits  of  the  heroic  dead,  with  no  stain  on  its  honor. 
Its  good  name  will  live  as  long  as  the  University  of  Alabama 
endures. 

I  believe  that  those  three  hundred  young  fellows  would  have 
eagerly  attacked  Croxton's  whole  brigade,  which  outnumbered 
them  five  to  one;  but  the  great  fatherly  heart  of  Dr.  Garland 
could  not  suffer  them  to  be  butchered  when  he  knew  that  the 
sacrifice  would  be  useless.  He  wTas  influenced  by  the  same  mo- 


REMINISCENCES.  215 

live  which  impelled  General  Lee  to  surrender  the  remnant  of 
his  gallant  men,  who  said :  "We  would  rather  die  than  come  to 
this."  We  admire  the  heroism  of  the  men.  Their  devotion 
makes  us  think  better  of  humanity.  We  venerate  the  great 
souls  of  Dr.  Garland  and  General  Lee.  Their  nobility  lifts  our 
thoughts  of  human  nature  into  kinship  with  the  divine. 

The  object  of  General  Croxton's  raid  through  Tuscaloosa 
was  to  break  up  the  University,  which  the  Federal  authorities 
rightly  thought  was  a  source  of  keeping  up  the  war  spirit  and 
of  furnishing  efficient  men  for  the  army.  As  soon  as  its  de- 
struction was  accomplished,  he  left  without  making  an  effort 
to  pursue  the  corps  of  cadets. 

For  some  of  the  details  in  the  history  of  these  closing  days 
I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  J.  G.  Cowan,  who  kept  a  diary  of  this 
period. 

STARTING  TO  JOIN  LEE'S  ARMY. 

The  officers  and  professors  who  had  gone  with  the  corps 
promptly  returned  to  Tuscaloosa.  As  soon  as  we  could  get  a 
few  clothes  ready  Captain  D.  Poynor,  Captain  E.  A.  Smith, 
Mr.  P.  F.  Tricou,  and  the  writer  started  for  General  Lee's 
army.  Each  carried  a  knapsack  for  clothes,  a  haversack  for 
rations,  a  canteen  for  drinking  water,  and  a  gun  and  cartridge 
box.  We  expected  to  go  on  foot  over  all  the  gaps  where  the 
railroads  had  been  destroyed.  We  were  to  walk  to  Prattville 
and  spend  a  day  or  two  at  Dr.  Smith's,  then  go  on  our  way. 
We  were  enjoying  this  walk  till  we  got  within  about  fifteen 
miles  of  Prattville,  when  we  began  to  meet  soldiers  saying  that 
General  Lee  had  surrendered.  We  did  not  believe  it.  We  were 
like  the  old  negro  of  whom  General  Fitzhugh  Lee  used  to  tell 
a  story.  When  he  was  told  that  General  Lee  had  surrendered, 
he  indignantly  contradicted  it,  saying:  "That  little  upstart  of  a 
General  Fitzhugh  Lee  may  have  surrendered ;  but  Marse  Rob- 
ert— never !"  After  going  a  little  farther,  we  met  others  who 
showed  us  their  paroles.  The  terrible  fact  dawned  upon  us  at 
last.  Our  steps  through  the  remaining  fifteen  miles  to  Pratt- 
ville were  not  so  elastic. 

Soon  after  we  reached  Prattville  a  detachment  of  General 


2i6  REMINISCENCES. 

\Yilson's  army  passed  through.  I  was  the  only  one  of  our 
party  in  Prattville  the  day  the  Federals  passed.  The  others 
were  out  in  the  country.  I  put  on  Dr.  Smith's  straw  hat  and 
linen  duster  and  was  not  molested.  I  suppose  they  did  not  care 
to  be  bothered  with  such  a  "country  cracker." 

THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  LINCOLN. 

During  our  stay  in  Prattville  the  news  of  President  Lin- 
coln's assassination  reached  us  and  made  a  sad  and  profound 
impression.  The  better  classes  of  the  Southern  people  have 
never  had  any  sympathy  with  assassination.  It  was  feared  that 
the  South  would  fare  worse  under  Andrew  Johnson,  who  was 
known  to  be  very  bitter  against  secession.  It  was  also  a  matter 
of  regret  that  John  Wilkes  Booth,  the  murderer  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, was  a  Southern  sympathizer,  which  fact,  it  w-as  appre- 
hended, would  tend  to  intensify  the  bitter  feeling  already  ex- 
isting against  the  South.  Our  fears  were  all  realized.  In  the 
North  indignation  was  very  intense.  In  New  York  City  feel- 
ing ran  high,  and  the  mob  spirit  was  rampant.  Thousands  of 
citizens,  mad  with  rage,  marched  through  the  streets  with  arms 
and  torches,  vowing  to  wreak  vengeance  on  any  man  known  to 
be  a  Southern  sympathizer.  Through  Wall  Street  the  mob 
surged,  crying  for  vengeance  and  thirsting  for  blood.  James 
A.  Garfield,  not  then  thirty-four  years  old,  but  a  well-known 
figure,  a  member  of  Congress,  and  ex-soldier,  who  had  resigned 
from  the  army  after  having  been  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
major  general  of  volunteers  for  gallant  services  at  Chickamau- 
ga,  appeared  on  the  porch  of  a  hotel  and  waved  his  hand  to  the 
mob  to  attract  attention.  Supposing  that  a  bulletin  was  about 
to  be  read,  it  grew  silent.  Then  Garfield  delivered  this,  one  of 
the  shortest  and  most  eloquent  orations  of  which  there  is  any 
history : 

Fellow  Citizens:  Omuls  and  darkness  are  round  about  him.  His  pa- 
vilion is  dark  waters  and  thick  clouds  of  the  skies.  Justice  and  judgment 
are  the  habitation  of  his  throne,  and  truth  shall  go  before  his  face.  Fellow 
citizens,  God  reign?,  and  the  government  at  Washington  still  lives. 


REMINISCENCES.  217 

The  tumult  was  silenced,  the  mob  melted  away,  and  quiet 
and  order  were  restored.  The  short  speech  inspired  those  who 
heard  it  with  hope  and  confidence  and  drove  from  their  minds 
the  frenzy  of  passion  and  the  lust  of  vengeance.  Sixteen  years 
later  President  Garfield  was  laid  low  by  the  bullet  of  Charles 
J.  Guiteau,  a  crazed  assassin.  After  many  weeks  of  suffering, 
he  passed  to  his  long  account,  sincerely  mourned  by  the  South 
as  well  as  by  the  North. 

After  being  kindly  entertained  by  Dr.  Smith  and  his  gener- 
ous family  for  two  or  three  weeks,  I  returned  to  Tuscaloosa 
and  spent  several  weeks  with  friends  in  that  hospitable  com- 
munity. Among  these  I  wish  to  mention  Mrs.  T.  P.  Lewis. 
While  I  enjoyed  the  kindness  of  my  friends,  I  could  not  re- 
main longer  dependent  on  any  one.  Indeed,  my  remaining  as 
long  as  I  did  was  a  stern  necessity.  I  had  not  a  decent  suit  of 
clothes.  I  had  no  money,  and,  what  was  worse,  no  one  else  had 
any.  There  were  no  mails.  There  were  no  means  of  public 
conveyance  and  little  private  travel,  for  all  the  horses  had  been 
taken  by  one  army  or  the  other.  I  could  not  go  anywhere.  I 
could  not  hear  from  anywhere.  I  would  have  walked  if  I 
had  known  where  to  find  a  place  that  would  afford  me  a  living 
for  any  honorable  service  that  I  could  render.  But  business 
was  paralyzed  everywhere.  At  last  I  was  offered  a  seat  in 
Mr.  Charles  Walker's  carriage  as  far  as  Faunsdale.  Thence  I 
went  on  the  railroad  to  Demopolis.  There  I  had  a  friend,  J. 
F.  Griffin,  who  had  been  one  of  my  roommates  in  college.  He 
had  sold  some  cotton  and  had  some  money  in  "greenbacks." 
He  lent  me  fifteen  dollars.  With  this  I  went  on  a  boat  to 
Jackson,  Alabama,  the  home  of  my  fiancee,  Miss  F.  A.  Taylor, 
to  make  the  acquaintance  of  her  family. 

Perhaps  this  is  as  appropriate  a  place  as  any  other  to  mention 
some  of  the  losses  that  Alabama  sustained  in  consequence  of 
the  war.  To  say  nothing  of  the  destruction  of  her  University 
buildings  and  millions  of  dollars'  worth  of  private  property, 
the  suspension  of  business,  and  the  depreciation  of  values,  it 
has  been  estimated  that  she  sent  120,000  soldiers  into  the 
field  out  of  a  white  population  of  526,271.  Of  these,  it  is 


2i8  REMINISCENCES. 

believed  that  35,000  lost  their  lives,  besides  many  more  who 
died  soon  after  the  war  from  wounds  and  diseases  contracted 
in  the  army,  making  not  less  than  one-third  of  all  those  who 
enlisted.  Colonel  \V.  H.  Fowler,  State  Superintendent  of 
Army  Records,  made  this  report  in  December,  1865:  "I  assert 
with  confidence  that  Alabama  sent  more  troops  into  the  service 
than  any  other  State  of  the  South  in  proportion  to  population 
and  that  her  loss  was  heavier  than  that  of  any  other." 

BACK  TO  CIIOCTAW  COUNTY — THE  SCHOOL  AT  MOUNT 
STERLING. 

After  spending  a  few  days  at  Jackson,  I  went  on  a  boat  to 
Tuscahoma,  in  Choctaw  County,  and  thence  out  four  miles  to 
Mount  Sterling,  where  I  was  solicited  to  take  the  boys'  school. 
This  had  been  taught  in  the  early  fifties  by  Mr.  George  F.  Mel- 
len,  as  it  was  later,  from  1869-1880,  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Mellen,  two 
of  my  former  teachers,  but  was  now  without  a  teacher.  In  vis- 
iting the  prospective  patrons  of  the  school  I  spent  the  night  with 
Professor  Ben  E.  DuBose,  who  had  once  taught  this  school. 
He  made  the  statement  that  he  would  dread  to  undertake  the 
management  of  the  boys'  school  in  Mount  Sterling  because  the 
boys  were  so  bad.  Of  course  this  made  me  feel  that  I  had  a 
hard  job  on  my  hands.  But  I  had  been  assistant  in  the  school 
at  Pierce's  Springs  and  also  in  the  University,  and  I  had  been 
a  Confederate  soldier  and  was  somewhat  accustomed  to  hard 
jobs.  I  resolved  to  give  the  best  service  in  my  power.  About 
the  last  of  August  I  opened  my  school,  which  was  soon  filled 
up  with  forty  pupils,  the  limit  I  had  set.  I  was  surprised  and 
pleased  at  the  ease  with  which  I  managed  those  boys.  I  think 
there  were  three  reasons  for  my  success : 

i.  I  put  my  best  service  into  the  school.  I  came  near  break- 
ing myself  down  with  the  work  of  the  year.  So  much  worn 
was  I  that  I  found  it  necessary  in  April  to  take  a  short  vaca- 
tion. During  this  time  I  went  to  Mobile,  consulted  Dr.  J.  C. 
Xott  about  my  health,  bought  some  good  clothes,  and  called 
by  Jackson  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  Taylors,  though  Miss 
Fredonia,  the  one  in  whom  I  was  most  interested,  was  absent 


REMINISCENCES.  219 

in  Woodville,  Mississippi,  teaching  in  the  family  of  a  Mr. 
Simrall.  Under  Dr.  Nott's  prescription  my  health  improved. 
One  of  his  directions  was  to  desist  from  smoking. 

2.  The  second  reason  of  my  success  was  that  I  had  as  pupils 
three  young  men  who  had  been  in  the  Confederate  army :  two 
brothers,  Maybanks  DuBose  and  John  Wesley  DuBose,  and 
Charles  B.  DuBose,  a  cousin  of  theirs.    The  first  two  had  been 
pupils  of  mine  while  I  was  the  assistant  at  Pierce's  Springs; 
the  other  was  a  young  man  preparing  for  the  ministry.    These 
young  men  set  a  fine  example  and  aided  in  creating  a  loyal 
spirit  in  the  school.     Charles  B.  DuBose  joined  the  Alabama 
Conference  the  next  year  and  was  a  faithful  preacher  for  some 
years,  till  his  life  of  usefulness  was  cut  short  by  yellow  fever. 
He  had  charge  of  one  of  the  Churches  in  Pensacola  when  the 
epidemic  came.    He  sent  his  family  away,  bat  refused  to  leave 
his  afflicted  people,  most  of  whom  were  obliged  to  remain  in 
the  city.    He  and  the  Catholic  priest  were  the  only  pastors  left 
to  minister  to  the  sick  and  to  bury  the  dead.    Mr.  DuBose,  who 
had  been  a  brave  soldier,  now  showed  the  same  heroic  spirit  in 
the  pestilence  walking  in  darkness  that  he  had  shown  in  the 
destruction  caused  by  shot  and  shell  on  the  battle  field.     He 
deliberately  chose  to  stay  at  his  post  of  duty  till  he  went  down 
to  death.    He  was  buried  on  the  shore  of  Pensacola  Bay,  whose 
waves  will  sing  his  requiem  till  the  morning  of  the  resurrection. 

3.  The  third  reason  for  my  success  at  Mount  Sterling  was 
the  friendly  influence  of  Miss  O.  C.  DuBose,  who  was  principal 
of  the  girls'  school  in  the  village.    She  was  a  strong  character 
and  was  a  stanch  friend  when  she  was  a  friend.    She  exercised 
her  influence  in  favor  of  my  school.     I  make  this  statement  as 
a  tribute  to  her  memory. 

In  succeeding  years  I  educated  one  of  Maybanks  DuBose's 
daughters  and  two  of  Charlie  DuBose's.  So  the  threads  of  our 
influence  are  woven  into  the  warp  of  each  other's  lives. 

In  the  summer  and  fall  of  1865  there  was  great  confusion 
growing  out  of  the  movement  of  the  cotton  that  had  been 
stored  away  during  the  war.  Some  of  it  had  been  sold  to  the 
Confederate  government  and  paid  for  in  Confederate  bonds. 


2Jo  REMINISCENCES. 

Some  had  been  sold  to  commission  merchants  in  Mobile.  Some 
was  still  held  by  the  farmers  who  produced  it.  Except  what  had 
been  shipped  to  Europe  during  the  early  years  of  the  war,  it  was 
all  stored  away  under  ginhouses  and  sheds  on  the  plantations. 

After  the  surrender,  agents  of  the  Federal  government 
scoured  the  country  in  search  of  Confederate  cotton,  which 
they  claimed  was  the  property  of  the  United  States  by  right 
of  conquest.  The  merchants  were  eager  to  get  possession  of 
what  they  had  bought.  The  parties  who  still  held  their  cotton 
were  anxious  to  prevent  it  from  being  captured  and  carried  off 
in  the  general  scramble.  Cotton  was  commanding  five  hun- 
dred dollars  a  bale  and  was  the  only  thing  in  the  whole  country 
that  would  bring  money. 

The  Eederal  agents  were  not  very  particular  what  cotton 
they  seized.  They  seemed  to  think  that  it  all  belonged  to  the 
United  States.  The  farmers  claimed  that  the  Confederate 
government  had  never  made  its  bonds  good  and  that  they  had, 
therefore,  never  been  paid  for  their  cotton.  Some  thought  that 
they  had  a  right  to  it. 

The  Federal  agents  could  protect  their  claims  with  soldiers. 
The  merchants  and  farmers  had  to  protect  their  cotton  with 
private  guards  as  best  they  could.  Five  dollars  a  night  was  the 
price  paid  for  guards. 

There  was  great  activity  everywhere.  Wagons  were  moving 
on  all  the  roads  and  sometimes  through  the  woods  by  day  and 
often  by  night,  hauling  cotton  to  the  river.  There  was  a  gen- 
eral rampage,  and  occasional  killings  occurred.  I  attended  the 
funeral  of  a  young  man  who  was  killed  while  driving  a  wagon- 
load  of  cotton  to  the  boat  landing. 

Those  who  had  cotton  of  their  own  sold  it  and  bought  some 
new  clothes.  Many  who  had  none  took  some  ("Confederate 
cotton"  they  called  it)  and  followed  the  fashion.  Some  people 
seemed  to  have  lost  their  discrimination  between  what  was 
theirs  and  what  was  not.  One  preacher  advocated  "taking 
Confederate  cotton."  J.  \V.  Rush,  the  presiding  elder,  con- 
demned it  from  the  pulpit  in  the  most  emphatic  terms.  Who- 
ever might  be  the  rightful  owners  of  the  cotton,  I  knew  that  I 


REMINISCENCES.  221 

was  not.  I  determined  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  I  con- 
tinued to  wear  my  old  dingy  Confederate  uniform  till  I  could, 
by  teaching,  make  the  money  to  procure  a  better  wardrobe. 

THE  OATH  OF  ALLEGIANCE. 

After  the  surrender  I  was  not  molested  by  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  government.  In  November,  1865,  I  went  volun- 
tarily to  Lieutenant  Schrann,  the  officer  in  charge  of  Choctaw 
County,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  United  States. 
I  took  this  oath  in  good  faith  and  have  always  considered  it  as 
binding  as  if  nothing  had  happened  from  January  n,  1861,  to 
November,  1865. 

When  Alabama  seceded,  I  believed  that  she  was  the  only 
body  politic  to  which  I  owed  allegiance.  When  the  Confeder- 
acy was  formed  and  Alabama  became  a  part  of  it,  my  allegi- 
ance went  to  that  government  also.  But  when  Alabama  had, 
by  the  terms  of  the  surrender,  accepted  these  results  of  the 
war — namely,  that  the  Confederacy  was  extinct,  that  secession 
was  dead — and  when  she  had  by  vote  declared  her  purpose  to 
remain  in  the  Union,  I  considered  that  I  was  under  obligation 
to  declare  my  allegiance  to  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  if  I  intended  to  live  under  it  and  claim  its  protection. 
In  this  change  of  the  point  of  sovereignty  I  neither  sacrificed 
the  integrity  of  my  manhood  nor  violated  my  oath  of  alle- 
giance. 

The  United  States  has  no  more  loyal  citizens  than  the  old 
Confederate  soldiers  who  remained  true  to  their  cause  till  it 
was  lost,  who  knew  how  to  die  for  principle,  but  who  did  not 
know  how  to  compromise  the  truth  as  they  had  always  held  it. 
Let  no  old  Confederate  offer  any  suppliant  apology  for  what 
he  did  in  defending  his  native  land.  Let  him  rather  adopt  the 
sentiment  expressed  by  Maurice  Thompson  in  an  address  to 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic : 

"I  was  a  Rebel,  if  you  please, 

A  reckless  fighter  to  the  last ; 
Nor  do  I  fall  upon  my  knees 
And  ask  forgiveness  for  the  past. 


REMINISCENCES. 

A  traitor?     I  a  traitor?     Xo ! 

I  was  a  patriot  to  the  core ; 
The  South  was  mine,  I  love  her  so, 

I  gave  her  all — I  could  no  more." 

DR.  J.  W.  RUSH. 

During  this  year  of  1865-66  at  Mount  Sterling  I  became 
acquainted  with  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush,  who  was  presiding  elder  of 
what,  I  believe,  was  then  called  the  Suggsville  District,  which 
embraced  two  appointments  west  of  the  Tombigbee  River. 
Between  these  two  appointments  he  used  to  stay  at  the  home 
of  Mrs.  Manning,  with  whom  I  boarded.  I  found  him  an  in- 
teresting personality,  whose  visits  were  an  inspiration  at  a  time 
when  I  had  very  little  entertaining  companionship  outside  of 
my  books.  This  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Rush  was  the  begin- 
ning of  a  friendship  which  grew  in  strength  and  affection  to 
the  end  of  his  life  and  still  lives  even  while  I  linger  on  these 
mortal  shores. 

Dr.  Holmes  said  that  if  you  would  start  a  person  in  life  un- 
der the  best  conditions  you  should  go  back  two  hundred  years 
and  train  his  ancestors,  in  order  to  get  blood  of  the  purest  strain 
and  spirit  of  the  finest  tone,  so  far-reaching  and  dominating  is 
the  law  of  heredity. 

John  Wesley  Rush  was  fortunate  in  his  inheritance.  His 
father,  Charles  George  Rush,  came  of  virile  German  stock 
trained  in  the  doctrines  of  Lutheran  independence.  Young 
Rush  was  brought  up  in  the  Lutheran  Church,  in  which  he  was 
confirmed  in  his  early  manhood.  After  coming  to  Alabama,  in 
1818,  he  joined  the  Methodist  Church,  which  he  loyally  sup- 
ported with  his  time,  his  means,  and  his  prayers.  He  was 
noted  for  his  strong  character,  sound  sense,  great  industry,  and 
earnest  piety.  Such  was  his  piety  that  he  was  content  to  re- 
main in  the  world  and  contribute  to  its  betterment,  or  he  was 
ready  to  depart  and  be  forever  with  the  Lord.  The  former 
state  of  mind  was  shown  by  the  life  he  lived.  The  latter  was 
demonstrated  by  his  conduct  on  November  13,  1833,  when  he 
was  awakened  by  the  loud  screams  of  people  crying  out :  "The 


REMINISCENCES.  223 

day  of  judgment  has  come!"  Mr.  Rush  dressed  in  haste  and 
went  out  to  behold  the  heavens  all  ablaze  with  countless  balls  of 
fire  falling  to  the  earth.  He  accepted  the  belief  of  the  others 
that  this  marvelous  display  was  the  opening  scene  of  the  last 
great  day.  He  had  years  before  committed  his  life  to  God  and, 
like  John  Wesley,  was  ready  for  this  sublime  event.  With  joy- 
ful confidence  he  expected  to  see  Christ  "coming  in  power  and 
great  glory."  But  the  hours  passed,  the  day  dawned,  the  stars 
melted  away,  and  the  sun  rose  as  usual.  The  world  was  still 
going  on.  Mr.  Rush  was  disappointed.  Though  his  faith  in 
Christ  was  tested  on  a  false  issue,  it  was,  nevertheless,  really 
tested.  From  that  night  forth  he  was  not  afraid  of  the  advent 
of  death.  His  faith  was  like  that  of  Enoch  and  Elijah. 

In  1836  he  moved  from  Montgomery  County  to  Macon  and 
bought  a  plantation  two  and  a  half  miles  south  of  Tuskegee. 
Here  he  lived  till  1858,  when  he  went  to  heaven,  not  through 
the  magnificent  display  of  falling  stars,  but  through  the  natural 
abatement  of  his  physical  powers. 

His  character  and  manner  of  life  were  remembered  by  the 
older  people  in  the  community  when  I  moved  to  Tuskegee,  in 
1876.  I  have  heard  that  he  was  so  punctual  in  attending  all 
Church  services,  night  and  day,  that  the  horse  which  he  drove 
would  of  its  own  accord  leave  the  street  at  the  right  place, 
turn  to  the  church  (then  on  a  side  street),  go  up  to  the  hitch- 
ing post,  turn  the  buggy  wheel  to  the  right  position  for  the 
occupants  to  alight,  and  then  stand  without  being  hitched  till 
his  master  returned. 

With  his  habits  of  industry,  frugality,  and  good  judgment, 
Mr.  Rush  prospered  in  business  and  used  his  money  on  church- 
es, chapels,  schoolhouses,  missions,  orphans,  and  strangers. 
Every  good  cause  appealed  to  him.  As  an  indication  of  his 
concern  for  his  slaves,  he  built  a  neat  chapel  for  their  conveni- 
ence and  provided  religious  services,  which  he  required  them 
and  the  overseer  all  to  attend  dressed  in  their  best  clothes.  So 
carefully  did  he  look  after  their  morals  that  gross  immoralities 
were  rarely  ever  known  among  them. 

His  wife  was  filled  with  the  same  pious  and  generous  spirit. 


jj.}  REMIXISCEXCES. 

She  abounded  in  all  phases  of  liberality.  Her  money  was  only 
a  means  to  a  higher  end.  She  laid  up  her  treasures  in  heaven. 
As  an  indication  of  the  direction  in  which  the  current  of  her 
thoughts  flowed,  she,  like  Hannah  of  old,  dedicated  her  son  to 
the  ministry  before  he  was  born.  Through  his  infancy,  child- 
hood, and  youth  her  faith  never  failed,  even  while  he  was  going 
through  the  period  of  boyish  waywardness. 

She  lived  to  see  him  soundly  converted,  called  to  the  minis- 
try, graduated  from  Emory  College,  and  received  into  the 
Conference.  On  returning  from  church  on  one  occasion  when 
he  had  occupied  the  pulpit,  she  informed  him  for  the  first  time 
that  she  had  dedicated  him  to  the  ministry  even  before  his 
birth.  This  revelation  startled  him,  as  he  realized  that  he  had 
been  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  from  the  beginning. 

Like  many  other  educated  young  men  of  that  time,  he  was 
appointed  to  preach  to  the  negroes.  His  ministry  to  them  he 
always  considered  among  his  most  fruitful  labors.  At  the  end 
of  this  pastorate  he  preached  his  farewell  sermon  and  was  on 
the  point  of  dismissing  the  congregation  when  the  leaders 
beckoned  him  to  wait  while  they  took  up  a  collection.  When 
he  saw  their  hard-earned  contributions  poured  out  on  the  table 
as  a  thank  offering  to  him,  he  was  so  moved  with  sympathy 
and  love  for  them  that  he  broke  down  in  tears.  This  is  a  speci- 
men of  the  feelings  that  often  existed  between  the  races  before 
the  war. 

Dr.  Rush,  during  a  long  and  faithful  ministry,  filled  nearly 
every  prominent  appointment  in  the  Alabama  Conference. 

Such  was  the  parentage  and  such  was  the  career  of  Dr.  John 
Wesley  Rush,  who  was  one  of  my  most  intimate  friends  for 
many  years.  He  is  mentioned  several  times  in  these  memoirs. 
I  had  the  honor  of  educating  three  of  his  daughters  and  one  of 
his  sons,  who  are  perpetuating  his  fine  qualities. 

During  my  year  at  Mount  Sterling  I  was  still  expecting  to 
study  law.  but  my  work  was  so  heavy  that  I  had  no  time  nor 
strength  to  devote  to  the  study  of  law.  I  had  classes  in  read- 
ing, grammar,  rhetoric,  and  composition.  Latin  through  Caesar, 
Vergil,  and  Horace,  Greek  through  Xenophon  and  Homer,  in 


REMINISCENCES.  225 

mathematics  through  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  and  trigo- 
nometry, and  a  class  in  French.  The  amount  and  variety  of 
this  work  seem  incredible;  but  I  managed  to  do  it  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  patrons. 

Though  not  having  time  to  devote  to  the  study  of  law,  I 
wrote  to  my  friend,  Colonel  D.  S.  Troy,  of  Montgomery,  and 
made  arrangements  to  go  into  his  law  office  the  ensuing  fall. 
He  had  been  my  stanch  friend  all  through  our  war  experiences 
and  was  now  ready  to  aid  me  in  my  studies  and  give  me  some 
clerical  work  while  I  was  getting  ready  to  go  into  the  practice. 

The  trustees  of  the  Mount  Sterling  Academy  expressed 
themselves  as  well  pleased.  Mr.  William  D.  Gaines,  the  Chair- 
man of  the  Board,  was  very  complimentary  and  urged  me  to 
remain ;  but,  having  made  up  my  mind  to  go  to  Montgomery, 
I  closed  my  school  the  first  week  in  July,  1866. 

As  soon  as  I  could  wind  up  my  business  I  went  to  see  my 
friend  Colonel  Yates.  After  a  hot  day's  ride  of  thirty  miles, 
I  reached  his  house  in  the  afternoon  and  found  him  sick.  Aft- 
er the  usual  salutations,  I  informed  him  with  some  degree  of 
pride  that  I  was  ready  to  pay  him  what  I  owed  him;  that  I 
wished  to  pay  interest  on  the  debt ;  and  that,  as  I  had  to  pay 
in  "greenbacks,"  I  would  pay  the  difference  in  the  value  of 
the  greenbacks  and  the  gold  which  he  loaned  me  six  years  be- 
fore. In  a  serious  tone  he  said  :  "You  don't  owe  me  anything." 
I  answered :  "Yes,  I  do,  and  you  have  my  notes  for  three  hun- 
dred dollars."  His  answer  was:  "I  never  intended  to  make 
you  pay  those  notes.  I  just  took  them  to  make  you  work." 
He  grew  desperately  sick  and  died  three  days  later.  Before 
he  became  unconscious  he  said:  "I  am  so  glad  that  you  came 
to  be  with  me  in  my  last  hours."  Thus  passed  away  a  generous 
friend  who  made  it  possible  for  me  to  get  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion. If  the  value  of  my  life  work  has  been  increased,  this  has 
been  due  to  the  liberality  of  Colonel  Alfred  C.  Yates.  Out  of 
the  money  I  had  expected  to  pay  him  I  furnished  Mrs.  Yates 
what  she  needed  for  his  funeral  expenses. 

After  the  burial  of  my  friend,  I  went  to  New  Orleans  to 
meet  Miss  Taylor  on  her  return  from  Mississippi.  There  was 


226  REMINISCENCES. 

no  railroad  between  Mobile  and  New  Orleans  in  1866.  The 
travel  was  done  on  a  line  of  elegant  steamers  plying  between 
these  two  cities.  During  my  stay  in  New  Orleans  I  was  hos- 
pitably entertained  in  the  home  of  Mrs.  W.  M.  Weibling,  an 
aunt  of  Miss  Taylor's. 

On  our  arrival  in  Jackson  I  met  a  Mr.  W.  B.  Hill,  of  Sum- 
mcrfield,  who  had  been  looking  for  me  for  some  time.  He 
informed  me  that  he  and  I  had  been  elected  co-principals  of 
Centenary  Male  Institute ;  that  he  had  been  sent  to  find  me  and 
solicit  my  acceptance  of  the  position,  which  he  thought  would 
pay  us  three  thousand  dollars  apiece ;  and  that  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush 
and  Dr.  J.  Hamilton  were  members  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
and  had  recommended  me,  though  a  stranger  to  all  the  other 
members  of  the  Board.  I  was  reluctant  to  give  up  my  plan  of 
going  to  Montgomery;  but  this  seemed  to  be  so  flattering  an 
offer,  unsolicited,  that  I  thought  it  might  be  wise  to  make  a  lit- 
tle more  money  before  embarking  in  a  profession  which  I  knew 
did  not  generally  pay  very  well  in  the  beginning.  So  I  ac- 
cepted the  place  for  one  year  without  yet  abandoning  my  pur- 
pose of  going  into  law. 

MARRIAGE  TO  Miss  FREDONIA  A.  TAYLOR. 
Now  came  up  the  question  whether  Miss  Taylor  and  I  should 
be  married  before  I  went  to  Summerfield  or  whether  we  should 
postpone  the  matter  indefinitely.  It  was  a  serious  question,  the 
decision  of  which,  I  believe,  changed  the  whole  course  of  my 
life.  We  did  what  our  feelings  prompted  and  what  the  out- 
look seemed  to  justify.  We  were  married  on  September  23, 
1866,  by  Dr.  Jefferson  Hamilton,  of  Mobile,  and  took  a  boat 
for  Demopolis  immediately  after  the  ceremony.  From  there 
we  went  by  rail  to  Selma  and  thence  to  Summerfield  by  car- 
riage. 

THE  TAYLOR  FAMILY. 

The  following  reference  to  the  Taylor  family  is  taken  from 
West's  "History  of  Methodism  in  Alabama" : 

Mrs.  A.  C.  Taylor,  the  first  avowed  friend  and  active  benefactor  of 
Methodism  at  the  town  of  Jackson,  Alabama,  lived  many  years  and  ren- 


REMINISCENCES.  227 

dered  great  service  to  the  cause  espoused ;  and  through  all  the  years  of  her 
Christian  pilgrimage  she  entertained  pious  sentiments  and  the  blissful  antic- 
ipation that  she  would  enter  into  the  palace  of  the  King  Eternal.  Some- 
time after  Mrs.  Taylor  joined  the  Church  her  husband,  Mr.  Walter  Tay- 
lor, attached  himself  to  the  same  Church  and  was  liberal  in  his  support  of 
the  institutions  thereof.  Mr.  Walter  Taylor  and  Mrs.  A.  C.  Taylor  had 
eight  children,  who  grew  to  maturity  and  became  Methodists.  The  family 
has  been  noted  for  intelligence  and  refinement. 

Mr.  Taylor  was  a  man  of  superior  intellect.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Augusta  College,  Kentucky,  under  the  presidency 
of  Dr.  H.  B.  Bascom,  in  the  class  of  1838,  with  first  honors. 
He  was  the  valedictorian  of  the  class.  The  degree  of  A.M.  was 
conferred  on  him  the  same  year. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  was  married  to  Miss  Amanda 
Caroline  Lankford  at  her  home,  in  Coffeeville,  Alabama,  and 
brought  his  bride  immediately  to  the  beautiful  home  he  had 
prepared  for  her  in  Jackson,  Alabama. 

While  Mr.  Taylor's  native  ability  and  educational  advan- 
tages fitted  him  for  high  positions  in  public  life,  he  preferred 
merchandising  in  his  native  town  and  making  a  lovely  home 
for  his  family,,  in  which  he  found  his  chief  pleasure.  He  was 
always  the  high-toned  gentleman,  courteous  and  considerate  of 
others.  In  his  home  he  treated  his  wife  and  daughters  with 
the  same  deference  that  he  invariably  showed  to  other  women. 
He  did  not  accumulate  wealth,  because  he  could  never  say 
"No"  to  any  call  upon  his  generosity  nor  turn  a  deaf  ear  to- 
ward any  one  asking  his  aid.  Though  not  demonstrative  in 
his  religious  profession,  his  motto  was,  "Do  unto  others  as 
you  would  have  them  do  unto  you."  He  lived  his  religion  in 
his  daily  life. 

In  the  first  years  of  their  married  life  there  was  no  church 
in  Jackson.  Mr.  Taylor  donated  a  church  building,  furnished 
it  with  a  pulpit  and  seats,  and  paid  for  the  services  of  a  preach- 
er, while  his  wife  was  the  only  Methodist  in  town.  She  went 
among  the  people,  encouraged  them  to  attend  the  services,  and 
thus  laid  the  foundation  for  Methodism  in  Jackson.  Some- 
time later  Mr.  Taylor  joined  the  Church. 

His  generosity  abounded  in  other  ways.     When  there  was 


228  REMINISCENCES. 

no  school  in  the  community,  he  maintained  a  private  school  in 
his  home,  to  which  he  invited  his  neighbors  to  send  their  chil- 
dren. In  addition  to  the  burden  of  rearing  a  large  family,  he 
and  his  wife  at  different  times  during  their  lives  took  into 
their  hearts  and  home  thirteen  other  children,  some  partly 
orphaned,  others  entirely  so. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  were  born  one  son  and  ten  daugh- 
ters. The  son  and  seven  daughters  grew  to  maturity.  The 
son,  \Yalter  Taylor,  Jr.,  was  my  pupil  while  I  was  in  charge 
of  the  male  school  in  Summerfield.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
brilliant  young  men  I  ever  taught.  Of  the  daughters  who 
reached  maturity,  Fredonia  Alethea  was  remarkable  for  her 
early  interest  in  religion,  joining  the  Methodist  Church  at  the 
age  of  nine ;  for  her  unswerving  adherence  to  the  truth  under 
all  circumstances;  and  for  her  high  mental  endowments  and 
her  eagerness  to  acquire  knowledge.  She  took  the  first  honors 
in  the  Tuscaloosa  Female  College  and  was  the  valedictorian  of 
her  class.  She  excelled  in  literature,  art,  and  music.  But, 
above  all  her  accomplishments,  she  was  a  true  woman,  a  de- 
voted wife  and  mother,  and  a  genuine  Christian,  as  appeared 
in  the  final  test. 

Florence,  the  second  daughter,  was  educated  in  the  Tuskegee 
Female  College.  Aurulia,  the  third  daughter,  attended  a  girls' 
school  in  Auburn.  Carrie,  the  seventh  daughter,  attended  col- 
lege in  Centenary  Female  College  during  the  presidency  of 
Professor  W.  J.  Vaughn.  During  their  girlhood  these  were 
all  regular  attendants  in  the  Sunday  school,  either  as  pupils  or 
teachers,  and  all  united  with  the  Methodist  Church. 

I  was  not  so  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Taylor  as  I  was  with 
Mrs.  Taylor.  I  was  only  an  occasional  visitor  in  his  home ; 
and  when  I  was  a  visitor  in  his  family,  he  was  nearly  always 
engaged  in  his  business.  I  saw  much  of  Mrs.  Taylor  in  her 
own  house ;  besides,  she  spent  some  time  in  my  family  on  four 
different  occasions.  She  was  a  woman  of  the  highest  ideals, 
of  great  force  of  character,  and  withal  of  great  affability  and 
tender  sympathy.  Her  end  was  the  fit  sequel  of  such  a  life. 
I  called  to  see  her  a  short  time  before  her  death.  She  knew 


REMINISCENCES.  229 

that  her  work  was  done.  She  was  waiting  for  her  translation. 
Her  husband  and  seven  of  her  children  had  passed  over  the 
mysterious  stream  that  divides  the  heavenly  land  from  ours. 
She  felt  some  nervousness  about  crossing  the  river,  but  her 
heart  was  with  her  Lord  and  the  company  on  the  other  shore. 
Noble  woman!  She  had  fought  a  good  fight.  She  had  kept 
the  faith.  Henceforth  she  will  wear  a  crown  of  righteousness 
promised  to  those  who  hold  fast  the  profession  of  their  faith 
unto  the  end. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Summerfield — Centenary  Institute — Dr.  A.  H.  Mitchell  and  Mrs.  Fidelia 
(Douglas)  Mitchell — Mr.  and  Mrs.  B.  I.  Harrison — Rev.  and  Mrs. 
Greenberry  Garrett— Dr.  John  S.  Moore— Mrs.  S.  L.  W.  Daniel— Dr.  S. 
\V.  Vaughan. 

AS  Summerfield  was  my  home  for  eight  years,  during  which 
I  had  a  variety  of  experiences,  some  of  the  most  pleasant 
and  some  of  the  most  sorrowful  of  my  life,  and  as  I  here 
formed  very  close  and  cordial  relations  with  some  of  the  noted 
people  of  that  day,  I  consider  it  proper  to  give  a  brief  account 
of  the  origin  and  characteristics  of  the  place. 

It  was  originally  called  Valley  Creek  and  was  incorporated 
as  a  school  in  1829.  When  the  centenary  of  Methodism  was 
celebrated,  in  1839,  there  was  great  activity  in  Methodist  cir- 
cles in  raising  money  for  the  foundation  of  schools.  As  Val- 
ley Creek  was  centrally  located,  it  was  thought  to  be  the  best 
place  for  a  college  in  Middle  Alabama.  There  were  no  rail- 
roads and  no  large  centers  of  population.  Satisfied  with  con- 
ditions as  they  then  were  and  not  dreaming  of  the  astounding 
changes  that  were  to  come  in  less  than  three-quarters  of  a 
century,  the  citizenry  imagined  that  this  place  might  in  course 
of  time  become  the  capital  of  the  State.  But  let  us  not  smile 
at  their  simple  faith,  for  they  had  faith  that  resulted  in  works. 
They  did  the  best  thing  they  knew  for  their  generation.  As 
an  outcome  of  the  centenary  movement  Valley  Creek  was,  in 
1842,  chartered  as  Centenary  Institute  and  started  as  an  insti- 
tution of  higher  learning.  In  1843  Dr.  A.  H.  Mitchell  was 
called  from  Emory  College  to  the  presidency.  In  1845  tne 
name  of  the  place  was  changed  from  Valley  Creek  to  Summer- 
field,  in  honor  of  the  eloquent  preacher,  John  Summerfield. 

During  the  later  forties  and  the  fifties,  and  even  into  the 
early  sixties,  this  school  became  the  most  noted  institution 
in  all  Central  Alabama.  Much  of  the  time  from  1845  to 
1865  there  were  as  many  as  five  hundred  students  in  attend- 
ance. The  work  done  was  not  of  the  highest  grade  according 
(230) 


REMINISCENCES.  231 

to  the  modern  standards,  but  it  was  of  a  kind  that  made  good 
men  and  good  women.  From  the  evidences  they  left  behind 
them,  as  large  a  portion  of  them  served  their  generation  effi- 
ciently while  they  lived  and  then  went  to  the  kingdom  of  God 
above  as  of  any  generation  that  has  ever  lived  in  Alabama. 

One  striking  feature  of  Centenary  Institute  was  its  religious 
tone.  So  far  as  I  can  learn,  it  was  the  most  positive  spiritual 
influence  that  has  ever  been  exerted  in  education  in  this  State, 
unless  that  in  old  LaGrange  College  may  have  been  its  equal. 
I  had  been  hearing  of  Summerfield  for  many  years.  It  was 
as  a  city  set  on  a  hill.  I  believe  that  my  decision  to  go  there 
when  I  did  was  somewhat  quickened  by  a  wish  that  I  might 
secure  some  spiritual  benefit  by  breathing  its  religious  atmos- 
phere. 

The  Institute  as  organized  under  Dr.  Mitchell  consisted  of 
two  separate  departments,  Centenary  Female  College  and  Cen- 
tenary Male  Institute.  It  was  to  the  latter  that  I  was  called. 
Dr.  R.  K.  Hargrove  (afterwards  Bishop)  had  been  in  charge 
of  the  Female  College  the  previous  year.  Professor  W.  J. 
Vaughn  was  just  coming  in  to  take  charge  of  it  when  I  entered 
the  male  school,  in  1866. 

Mr.  Hill  and  I  opened  with  about  seventy-five  boys  and  ran 
on  smoothly  till  sometime  in  the  early  spring,  when  one  of 
our  boys  stabbed  another  in  a  manner  that  could  not  be  passed 
over  lightly.  I  was  in  favor  of  dismissing  the  offender;  but 
Mr.  Hill,  being  influenced  by  a  friend  of  the  family  of  the 
offender,  was  in  favor  of  letting  the  offense  pass  with  only  a 
reprimand.  We  finally  compromised  on  a  week's  suspension 
and  ran  to  the  close  of  the  session.  While  Mr.  Hill  and  I 
remained  friends  to  the  day  of  his  death,  I  resolved  never 
again  to  go  into  partnership  with  any  one  in  the  management 
of  a  school.  I  had  been  a  soldier  and  knew  how  to  obey  or- 
ders and  did  not  mind  doing  so;  but  when  I  had  to  take  the 
responsibility  of  management,  or  even  half  of  it,  I  wanted  a 
free  hand  to  do  what  I  deemed  right  and  proper.  I  offered  to 
resign  in  his  favor ;  but  he  declined  to  accept  this  offer  and  took 
a  school  in  Dayton,  Alabama. 


232  REMINISCENCES. 

From  the  close  of  that  year,  1866-67, 1  have  always  assumed 
the  responsibility  of  managing  my  school  without  interference 
from  teachers  or  trustees.  I  have  sometimes  asked  advice  of 
my  teachers,  but  have  always  assumed  the  entire  responsibility 
in  matters  of  government.  In  some  cases  I  found  it  necessary 
to  dismiss  pupils,  which  I  always  did  with  the  leaGt  possible 
publicity.  In  several  cases  I  felt  obliged  to  require  the  resig- 
nation of  teachers.  I  cannot  recall  a  single  case  of  unpleasant 
discipline  over  which  I  have  any  regret. 

On  September  15,  1867,  in  Jackson,  Alabama,  John  Taylor 
Massey,  my  oldest  son,  was  born.  He  was  baptized  by  Dr. 
A.  H.  Mitchell. 

The  session  of  1867-68  was  a  hard  one,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  there  was  a  failure  in  the  crops.  The  patronage  was 
small  and  collections  poor,  but  the  success  with  the  pupils  I 
had  was  very  gratifying.  There  was  a  growing  pleasure  in 
my  work,  notwithstanding  the  discouraging  feature  of  limited 
financial  remuneration.  I  am  convinced  that  the  teacher  who 
does  not  do  his  best  in  spite  of  poor  pay  has  missed  his  calling ; 
but  the  fact  that  he  does  his  best  on  poor  pay  is  the  strongest 
moral  appeal  that  can  be  made  in  favor  of  his  being  paid  a 
decent  living. 

The  session  of  1868-69  was  more  prosperous  financially, 
and  I  was  so  much  absorbed  in  my  work  that  the  thought  of 
ever  going  into  the  practice  of  law  was  beginning  to  fade  out 
of  my  mind.  Besides,  my  family  was  increasing,  and  the  in- 
expediency of  making  a  change  in  my  profession  was  becoming 
apparent.  The  fact  that  I  could  make  a  living  by  teaching  and 
the  growing  evidence  that  I  was  exerting  considerable  influ- 
ence over  the  minds  and  characters  of  my  pupils  gradually 
brought  me  to  the  settled  conviction  that  this  was  my  calling 
— a  calling  whose  prime  object  is  the  building  up  of  humanity, 
a  calling  upon  which  I  could  claim  the  blessing  of  God.  Since 
1869  I  have  never  thought  seriously  of  changing  my  vocation. 

On  September  29,  1869,  my  second  son,  Louis  Vaughn  Mas- 
sey, was  born  in  Summerfield,  Alabama.  He  was  baptized  by 
Rev.  M.  E.  Butt.  After  the  death  of  his  brother  Johnnie,  he 


REMINISCENCES.  233 

was  my  almost  constant  companion  for  the  next  two  years.  He 
was  an  interesting  boy  of  fine  capacity,  to  whom  I  endeavored 
to  give  the  best  educational  advantages.  Through  his  good 
name  and  that  of  his  son,  John  Castleman  Massey,  I  hope  that 
our  family  name  will  be  worthily  perpetuated.  I  am  more 
anxious  that  my  children  shall  make  and  maintain  worthy 
characters  than  that  they  shall  have  a  good  time  or  achieve 
worldly  success.  They  will  never  know  the  deep  solicitude  I 
feel  for  their  welfare  unless  they  gain  some  conception  of  it 
through  their  own  children. 

I  had  now,  in  the  third  year  of  my  residence,  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  people.  In  a  small  place  of  not  more  than 
two  or  three  hundred  the  people  see  one  another  in  all  phases 
more  clearly  than  they  do  in  large  cities  or  in  sparsely  settled 
neighborhoods.  Besides,  there  was  a  closer  community  of  in- 
terests and  sentiments  than  usual.  The  Johnston  family,  who 
were  Presbyterians,  were  the  only  family  I  recall  who  were  not 
members  of  the  Methodist  Church.  Although  class  meetings 
had  been  abolished  as  a  test  of  membership  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1866,  still  the  use  of  class  meetings  had  not 
become  obsolete  in  Summerfield.  So  the  people  who  attended 
these  meetings  had,  in  addition  to  the  fruits  they  bore  in  their 
conduct,  opportunity  to  become  acquainted  with  the  inner  life 
of  their  neighbors.  There  were  several  religious  services  each 
week  which  a  considerable  number  of  the  people  attended,  be- 
sides one  or  two  "protracted  meetings"  each  year.  Now,  while 
my  observation  convinced  me  that  all  this  did  not  make  saints 
of  some  of  the  people,  it  did  develop  a  high  type  of  piety  in 
some  others  and  did  give  an  opportunity  for  becoming  inti- 
mately acquainted.  It  may  be  interesting  and  instructive  to 
preserve  the  memory  of  some  of  these  people  as  I  knew  them 
a  half  century  ago. 

DR.  A.  H.  MITCHELL  AND  MRS.  FIDELIA  MITCHELL. 

Dr.  Archelaus  H.  Mitchell  was  the  king  of  Summerfield. 
He  was  a  native  of  Georgia,  born  in  1807;  was  a  graduate  of 
Franklin  College  (University  of  Georgia) ;  was  in  college  with 


2;,4  REMINISCENCES. 

Bishop  Pierce,  Robert  Toombs,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens; 
had  taught  Bishop  McTyeire  and  Dr.  \V.  A.  McCarty  in 
Cokesbury,  South  Carolina;  and  was  teaching  in  Emory  Col- 
lege when  he  was  called  to  Centenary  Instiiute  in  1843.  Some- 
time later  the  University  of  Alabama  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  in  recognition  of  his  ability  and 
his  work  in  education.  He  had  begun  his  education  late  in  his 
youth  and  could  hardly  be  called  a  very  accurate  scholar;  but 
his  was  a  strong,  positive  personality  coupled  with  traits  that 
some  people  called  little.  Soon  after  I  went  to  Summerfield 
my  wife  and  I  were  invited  to  attend  the  celebration  of  his 
birthday,  October  15.  On  this  day  he  closed  his  fifty-ninth 
and  entered  upon  his  sixtieth  year.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
my  intimate  acquaintance  with  him  and  his  wife,  for  whom  I 
always  entertained  an  affectionate  regard. 

In  physique  he  was  tall,  bony,  and  broad-shouldered,  slightly 
bow-legged  and  big-footed,  with  a  large  square  head,  from 
which  the  hair  stood  up  straight  in  front,  light  blue  eyes,  and 
a  tremendous  Roman  nose,  which  hooked  over  and  almost 
touched  his  chin.  He  had  a  distinct,  energetic  enunciation 
that  made  him,  not  eloquent,  but  impressive.  He  was  not  a 
good  conversationalist.  He  was  not  a  patient  listener.  He 
was  too  apt  to  inject  his  laconic  remarks  that  did  not  always 
contribute  to  the  easy  flow  of  the  conversation.  But  with  all 
his  peculiarities  he  was  an  old  Roman  in  integrity.  In  his 
bosom  beat  as  warm  and  sympathetic  a  heart  as  could  be  found 
in  many  who  claimed  to  be  capable  of  more  generous  senti- 
ments. He  was  not  constituted  to  be  a  gentleman  of  leisure. 
There  was  no  avenue  for  waste  in  his  composition.  He  lost 
no  time  in  idleness.  He  squandered  no  energy  in  useless  pur- 
suits. He  spent  no  money  on  nonessentials.  His  economy  in 
money  matters  provoked  the  criticism  of  free  livers,  yet  his 
generosity  put  his  critics  to  shame  when  it  came  to  providing 
for  the  needy  and  pushing  forward  useful  enterprises  in  the 
world.  He  was  not  a  wit,  but  there  was  something  in  the  tones 
of  his  voice  and  the  turns  of  his  thoughts  that  awakened  emo- 
tions of  the  ludicrous  without  any  such  intention  on  his  part. 


REMINISCENCES.  235 

As  stated  above,  his  name  was  Archelaus  H.  Mitchell.  He 
pronounced  the  name  Arch'y-lus,  accenting  the  first  syllable 
instead  of  the  third.  At  a  General  Conference  of  which  he 
was  a  member  and  Dr.  Thomas  O.  Summers  was  the  Secre- 
tary, Dr.  Summers,  in  calling  the  roll,  called  out :  "Archelaus 
H.  Mitchell."  Dr.  Mitchell  said :  "Arch'y-lus,  if  you  please." 
Dr.  Summers,  with  his  strict  notions  of  classic  pronunciation, 
called  again :  "Archelaus  H.  Mitchell."  Dr.  Mitchell  answered 
the  second  time,  "Arch'y-lus."  Dr.  Summers  called  the  third 
time :  "Archelaus  H.  Mitchell."  Dr.  Mitchell  said :  "Humph ! 
Were  you  at  the  christening?"  Dr.  Mitchell,  being  five  years 
the  senior,  made  the  repartee  more  pointed. 

He  was  a  member  of  a  militia  company  during  the  last  days 
of  the  war,  such  a  company  as  I  commanded  at  Pollard.  His 
company  was  sent  to  aid  in  the  defense  of  Selma  and  was  in 
the  city  when  it  was  captured.  Before  it  was  taken  there  was 
some  shooting  on  both  sides.  The  Doctor  took  aim  at  a  Fed- 
eral soldier  and  pulled  the  trigger,  saying :  "May  the  Lord  have 
mercy  on  his  soul!"  When  he  was  asked  years  afterwards 
whether  this  story  was  true  or  not,  he  said  it  was.  When 
asked  whether  he  killed  any  one,  he  said :  "I  don't  know ;  but  I 
sent  three  bullets  as  straight  as  I  could."  When  the  city  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Federals,  the  Doctor  took  refuge  under 
some  doorsteps  on  the  side  of  the  street  along  which  the  sol- 
diers were  gathering  up  prisoners.  A  man  of  the  bayonet 
spied  him  and  ordered  him  to  come  out.  As  the  old  man 
crawled  out  and  straightened  up  his  huge  grizzly  form,  tow- 
ering away  above  that  of  his  captor,  the  soldier  called  to  his 
comrades  in  a  loud  voice :  "Run  here  quick,  boys.  Here  is  the 
daddy  of  all  the  Johnny  Rebs." 

His  form  was  so  angular  and  ungraceful  and  his  voice  so 
hard  and  dry  that  one  would  have  thought  him  devoid  of  pathos, 
yet  as  pathetic  a  thing  as  I  ever  heard  from  any  man  I  heard 
from  him.  Dr.  Mitchell,  Rev.  Greenberry  Garrett,  and  Dr. 
Jefferson  Hamilton  had  been  bosom  friends  for  many  years. 
They  had  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  fought  the  battles  of 
the  Conference  before  the  world.  They  had  been  bound  to- 


236  REMINISCENCES. 

gether  in  a  sacred  trio  in  their  private  homes.  Mr.  Garrett 
and  Dr.  Hamilton  died  some  years  before  Dr.  Mitchell.  He 
was  preaching  a  sermon  in  which  he  alluded  to  their  departure. 
He  must  have  felt  as  John  Wesley  did  in  the  last  years  of  his 
life  while  trying  to  read  his  brother  Charles's  "Wrestling 
Jacob" : 

"Come,  O  thou  traveler  unknown, 

Whom  still  I  hold,  but  cannot  see; 
My  company  before  me  is  gone, 
And  I  am  left  alone  with  thee." 

When  he  came  to  the  line,  "My  company  before  me  is  gone," 
Mr.  Wesley's  voice  was  hushed  in  tears.  So  Dr.  Mitchell's 
voice  grew  soft  and  tremulous  as  he  referred  to  the  going  of 
his  companions  and  said :  "I  feel  like  a  solitary  old  pine  stand- 
ing bare  and  limbless,  from  which  all  of  its  companions  have 
been  cut  down."  His  tall,  rugged  stature  looked  so  much  like 
a  solitary  old  pine  standing  out  against  the  sky  that  this  com- 
parison expressing  his  loneliness  made  a  pathetic  scene  that  T 
have  rarely  witnessed. 

His  religious  experience  was  not  a  striking  one,  but  was,  I 
believe,  not  an  uncommon  one.  He  did  not  know  the  time 
when  he  was  converted.  He  only  knew  that  he  had  committed 
his  life  to  God  in  Christ  and  that  he  was  trying  to  live  as  be- 
came a  Christian.  I  have  sometimes  thought  that  it  was  a 
good  thing  to  have  such  a  steadying  balance  wheel  as  his  ex- 
perience during  the  revivals  in  order  to  keep  religion  from 
running  off  wholly  into  excitement. 

He  said  that  he  grew  up  in  a  family  noted  for  strict  integ- 
rity, but  in  which  there  was  no  public  recognition  of  religion. 
He  took  his  father  into  the  Church  after  he  became  a  minister 
of  the  gospel. 

Dr.  W.  P.  Hurt,  pastor  of  Church  Street  Church,  Selma, 
went  out  to  Summerfield  to  see  Dr.  Mitchell  a  short  time  be- 
fore his  death.  He  was  over  ninety  and  in  much  feebleness. 
After  some  conversation,  Dr.  Hurt  said  :  "You  have  had  a  long 
life  and  a  varied  experience,  Doctor.  You  know  that  in  the 
course  of  nature  you  cannot  expect  to  remain  here  much  Ion- 


REMINISCENCES.  237 

ger.  How  do  you  feel  at  the  prospect  of  death  ?"  He  raised  his 
emaciated  frame  up  on  his  elbow,  looked  his  friend  straight  in 
the  face,  and  said:  "To  tell  you  the  truth,  Brother  Hurt,  I 
have  never  been  able  to  contemplate  death  with  much  enthusi- 
asm." He  did  not  need  dying  grace  before  death;  but  two 
weeks  later,  when  his  time  came  to  meet  "the  king  of  terrors," 
he  passed  away  in  great  peace.  Dying  grace  was  given  for  the 
dying  hour  on  October  3,  1903,  he  lacking  only  twelve  days  of 
being  ninety-six  years  of  age. 

Mrs.  Fidelia  Douglas  Mitchell  was  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts. She  had  come  South  as  a  teacher  when  many  of  our 
best  teachers  came  from  the  North.  She  was  employed  as  a 
teacher  in  the  College  during  the  life  of  the  first  Mrs.  Mitchell 
and  sometime  later  was  married  to  Dr.  Mitchell.  She  was  a 
woman  of  rare  common  sense,  deep  piety,  and  large  public 
spirit.  She  entered  into  all  the  social  life  of  the  young  people 
as  one  of  them  and  was  equally  ready  to  share  the  sorrows  of 
the  afflicted  and  to  administer  comfort  to  the  disconsolate. 
She  had  the  nimble  faculty  of  adapting  herself  to  every  phase 
of  human  experience  and  yet  of  remaining  through  it  all  the 
same  unwavering  pointer  to  the  Star  of  Bethlehem.  She  was 
as  nearly  Pauline  in  her  feeling  as  any  one  I  have  ever  known 
in  becoming  "all  things  to  all  men,"  that  she  might  win  some. 

She  was  a  "Yankee"  in  her  economy.  While  her  hospitality 
was  as  generous  and  enjoyable  as  that  of  any  O'f  her  more 
lavish  Southern  neighbors,  nothing  went  to  waste  about  her 
house.  I  was  many  times  entertained  at  her  table  when  at  the 
beginning  of  the  meal  there  was  nothing  in  sight.  Soon  some 
article  of  food  would  be  brought  on  without  any  apology.  By 
the  time  we  had  eaten  this,  from  a  little  stove  in  the  corner  of 
the  dining  room  she  would  have  something  else  handed,  till  an 
ample  meal  had  been  served  without  waste  and  without  osten- 
tation. All  the  time  she  was  making  us  feel  free  and  easy— 
a  great  contrast  to  some  elaborate  dinners  I  have  seen  in  which 
hostess  and  guests  and  servants  were  all  on  thorns  lest  some- 
thing improper  should  be  done. 

She  was  a  great  help  to  me  in  some  of  the  sorrows  I  was 


238  REMINISCENCES. 

called  to  pass  through.  After  her  death  Dr.  Mitchell  said  to 
me:  "I  have  buried  two  wives.  The  first  was  the  most  beau- 
tiful woman  I  ever  knew;  the  second  was  the  best  one  I  ever 
saw." 

MR.  AND  MRS.  B.  I.  HARRISON. 

Mr.  B.  I.  Harrison  came  to  Valley  Creek  (Summerfield)  in 
1832  and  was  a  trustee  of  the  schools  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  native  of  South  Carolina  and  a  graduate  of  the  South 
Carolina  College  (University  of  South  Carolina).  He  told 
me  that  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  a  man  of  great  versatility  of 
talents  and  prodigious  learning,  who  was  President  of  the 
College  from  1820  to  1834,  had  "ruined  a  whole  generation 
of  young  men  by  his  skeptical  teaching."  Dr.  Cooper  must 
have  been  an  extremist,  as  he  had,  before  coming  to  South 
Carolina,  been  fined  and  imprisoned  by  the  courts  in  Pennsyl- 
vania for  a  violent  newspaper  attack  made  on  President  John 
Adams. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  a  man  of  frail  physical  constitution,  but 
of  fine  intellectual  parts.  He  was  a  great  reader  of  standard 
literature.  He  was  especially  fond  of  Charles  Lamb.  There 
seemed  to  have  been  something  in  the  gentle  spirit  of  the  poet 
and  critic  of  "Elia"  that  appealed  to  Mr.  Harrison's  sensitive 
nature. 

He  was  not  religious  when  he  came  to  Alabama.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  in  1835  he  was  fully  convinced  of  the  reality  of  the 
Christian  religion  and  of  his  need  of  its  support.  He  resolved 
to  forsake  the  world  and  to  seek  the  Saviour.  From  that  hour 
salvation  was  the  supreme  desire  of  his  heart,  which  was  drawn 
out  in  incessant  prayer  during  his  waking  hours  for  twelve 
months,  till  one  day,  while  riding4  on  horseback  in  company 
with  two  godless  men,  he  fell  into  deep  meditation  and  secret 
prayer.  Thus  riding  along  the  road  with  no  extraneous  help, 
his  doubts  fled  away,  and  his  soul  was  bathed  in  the  light  of 
the  divine  Spirit,  showing  that  God  can  meet  men  anywhere 
when  they  are  ready  to  meet  him.  Some  people  need  the  stim- 
ulating help  of  others  to  enable  them  to  make  a  full  commit- 


REMINISCENCES.  239 

ment  of  themselves  to  God.  Others  must  have  all  human  help 
removed  before  they  can  come  to  the  point  of  relying  on  noth- 
ing but  God.  Mr.  Harrison  was  not  what  is  generally  styled 
a  success  as  a  business  man,  but  he  was  a  man  of  lovely  spirit. 

In  addressing  my  school  on  one  occasion  he  said :  "Young 
gentlemen,  never  try  to  cover  up  your  sins.  Be  sure  they  will 
find  you  out.  But  remember  that  there  is  always  one  way  out 
of  a  wrong  thing.  Have  the  manhood  to  acknowledge  your 
sin,  then  you  will  have  the  evidence  in  yourselves  that  you 
are  doing  your  part  to  correct  your  faults  and  the  witness  of 
God's  Spirit  making  you  feel  the  blessedness  of  him  whose 
transgression  is  forgiven,  whose  sin  is  covered." 

Mrs.  Harrison's  maiden  name  was  Adaline  H.  Simmons. 
She  was  a  woman  of  rare  ability  and  of  extraordinary  reli- 
gious zeal.  She  had  a  very  ardent  temperament  and  was  de- 
monstrative in  her  feelings.  I  believe  that  there  are  many 
persons  of  less  fervid  temperament  who,  though  perfectly  sin- 
cere in  their  devotion,  do  not  make  the  same  demonstrations 
that  Mrs.  Harrison  did.  "One  star  differeth  from  another 
star"  in  the  realm  of  religious  experience  as  well  as  in  the 
firmament.  Mrs.  Harrison  was  "an  elect  lady"  and  "adorned 
the  doctrine  of  God  her  Saviour  in  all  things." 

REV.  AND  MRS.  GREENBERRY  GARRETT. 

Rev.  Greenberry  Garrett  had  been  for  many  years  an  active 
member  of  the  Alabama  Conference,  but  was,  when  I  went  to 
Summerfield,  a  superannuate  and  held  the  position  of  post- 
master in  the  village.  In  his  early  years  he  had  been  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Cherokee  Indians  in  North  Alabama  and  East 
Tennessee.  He  was  familiar  with  the  Indian  language  and 
was  always  ready  to  entertain  his  friends  with  specimens  of 
their  speeches  and  songs.  He  was  presiding  elder  of  the  district 
that  embraced  Pierce's  Springs,  Mississippi,  in  1855.  During 
his  presiding  eldership  I  made  my  first  public  move  in  religion, 
as  stated  on  a  former  page.  He  had  a  keen  dark  eye,  an  aqui- 
line nose,  and  a  large  chin,  indicating  positiveness  of  character. 
He  was  by  natural  disposition  a  determined  man  who  could  not 


j4o  REMINISCENCES. 

brook  restraints  gracefully.  As  he  grew  older  this  trait  as- 
sumed a  tone  of  impatience.  This  was  manifested  when  the 
students  would  ask  irrelevant  questions  about  the  mails.  This 
impatience  prevented  him  from  seeing  dormant  possibilities  of 
good  in  his  fellow  men.  His  lack  of  prophetic  vision  and  sym- 
pathetic faith  in  young  humanity  was  manifested  on  one  occa- 
sion when  he  passed  an  uncomplimentary  judgment  upon  the 
future  of  Samuel  "\Yill  John,  the  baby  boy  of  Mrs.  J.  R.  John. 
This  was  done  in  the  presence  of  a  large  company  of  friends. 
It  deeply  wounded  Mrs.  John,  who  never  forgave  it  till  her  son 
had  become  a  man  whom  she  was  proud  to  claim  as  her  son  and 
whom  the  State  of  Alabama  has  been  pleased  to  honor  as  one  of 
its  strong  and  valiant  men.  Rather  than  pass  an  unfavorable 
judgment  upon  a  boy,  better  do  as  Daniel  Webster  once  said 
that  he  felt  like  doing:  touch  his  hat  to  every  boy  he  met,  for 
he  was  thus  paying  his  respects  to  the  future  manhood  of  the 
country.  In  her  old  age  Mrs.  John  used  to  laugh  at  this  proph- 
ecy, which  was  entirely  reversed.  She  passed  it  to  the  account 
of  Mr.  Garrett's  lack  of  prophetic  vision. 

Mr.  Garrett's  impatience  was  prominently  exhibited  on  one 
occasion  when  he  was  requested  to  marry  a  couple  in  the 
church  at  eleven  o'clock  on  Sunday,  when  he  had  to  preach. 
No  doubt  he  had  selected  his  hymns  without  any  reference  to 
the  marriage.  The  bridal  party  was  late  getting  to  the  church, 
which  was  packed  with  people,  many  of  them  seemingly  more 
interested  in  the  wedding  than  they  were  in  the  sermon.  Necks 
were  craned  and  eyes  turned  toward  the  door  till  the  old  man's 
patience  went  all  to  pieces.  Finally  the  bridal  party  arrived, 
and  the  conjugal  knot  was  tied  in  great  haste.  The  preacher, 
in  a  harsh  voice  and  in  a  chopped-up  style,  as  fast  as  he  could 
utter  the  words,  went  through  the  marriage  ceremony.  Before 
the  parties  could  get  fairly  away  from  the  chancel,  he  an- 
nounced his  first  hymn : 

"Plunged  in  a  gulf  of  dark  despair, 

We  wretched  sinners  lay, 
Without  one  cheering  beam  of  hope 
Or  spark  of  glimmering  day." 


REMINISCENCES.  241 

Notwithstanding  his  faults,  he  was  a  true  man,  such  stuff 
as  martyrs  are  made  of.  He  would  have  gone  to  the  stake 
for  his  principles. 

Mrs.  Garrett  was  from  Wilkes-Barre,  Pennsylvania.  Her 
maiden  name  was  Eliza  Williams.  Her  marriage  to  Mr.  Gar- 
rett was  her  second  marriage,  as  it  was  also  his.  She  had 
in  her  own  right  property  enough  to  support  her,  but  she 
was  exceedingly  industrious  and  desirous  of  seeing  the  fruits 
of  her  labors.  As  her  house  joined  the  College  lot,  she  was  in 
the  habit  of  taking  some  girl  students  to  board.  Boarders 
are  nearly  always  keen-eyed  observers  of  the  saving  qualities 
of  their  hosts  and  kindly  interested  reporters  of  their  frugal 
management.  Mrs.  Garrett's  boarders  were  quite  free  to 
speak  of  her  fine  economical  traits,  as  is  evidenced  by  such 
tender  expressions  as  the  following :  "Aunt  Garrett,  please  give 
me  a  little  more  sugar  in  my  coffee."  Her  standing  answer 
was:  "Stir  it,  my  dear."  She  never  permitted  undissolved 
sugar  to  go  into  her  dishwater.  But  I  can  bear  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  she  was  a  kind  neighbor,  abounding  in  alms- 
deeds,  and  that  the  real  salt  of  Christian  charity  was  remark- 
ably efficient  even  while  working  through  her  human  qualities. 

DR.  JOHN  S.  MOORE. 

Dr.  John  S.  Moore  deserves  mention  in  this  connection.  He 
had  been  a  teacher  in  the  male  school  and  was  retiring  as  I 
went  in.  He  was  at  the  next  Conference  appointed  preacher 
in  charge  of  the  Summerfield  Church,  where  he  remained  two 
years.  He  was  a  Virginian  by  birth  and  education.  He  had 
taken  a  four-year  course  at  Randolph-Macon  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated.  But  finding,  as  he  expressed  it,  that 
he  "was  not  educated,"  he  took  an  extra  four  years  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  receiving  the  degree  of  M.A.  He  had  a 
fine  logical  mind  that  could  be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  abso- 
lutely correct  standards  in  all  departments  of  life. 

He  had,  as  he  himself  admitted,  broken  down  his  nervous 
system  by  his  protracted  courses  of  study,  from  which  pros- 
tration he  never  fully  recovered.  I  think  this  disorder  gave  his 
16 


242  REMINISCENCES. 

mind  more  of  a  somber  cast  than  was  natural.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  tendency  to  see  the  darker  side  of  life,  he  had  many 
lovable  elements  in  his  composition  which  I  learned  to  value 
very  highly.  Besides  the  cordial  relation  of  pastor  and  private 
member,  we  carried  on  a  course  of  study  together.  Our  sub- 
ject was  Sir  William  Hamilton's  "Metaphysics."  Our  plan  was 
to  get  one  or  two  chapters  each  week  and  recite  the  paragraphs 
alternately  without  using  the  book,  keeping  the  connection  of 
the  thought  in  the  development  of  the  subject.  I  found  this 
a  stimulating  mental  exercise  as  well  as  a  delightful  inter- 
course with  an  open-minded  friend  in  whom  there  was  no  guile. 

He  was  a  very  exacting  teacher,  who  had  no  patience  with 
shams  or  shirking.  His  standard  overtopped  ordinary  pupils. 
He  could  carry  good  students  along  on  a  high  plane,  but  he 
lacked  some  of  the  sympathetic  talent  required  to  come  down 
to  the  lower  orders  of  undisciplined  minds  and  inspire  them 
with  hope  and  confidence  in  making  the  most  of  themselves. 

As  a  speaker  he  was  rigid  in  gesture  and  inflexible  in  voice. 
His  words  came  slowly,  sometimes  hesitatingly ;  but  when  they 
did  come,  they  were  the  right  words.  His  sentences  seemed 
like  tempered  steel,  not  susceptible  of  correction.  When  he  had 
a  subject  thoroughly  wrought  out  and  warmed  by  the  fire  of 
his  great  heart,  his  speech  went  forward  with  convincing  pow- 
er. I  have  heard  sermons  from  him  equal  to  the  best  I  ever 
heard,  estimated  by  what  a  sermon  should  be  intended  to  do — 
to  produce  conviction  of  the  truth. 

When  one  knew  him  well,  there  was  a  manifest  vein  of 
humor  that  effervesced  in  jokes  and  funny  anecdotes  which 
he  could  tell  with  surprising  effect. 

He  would  stand  by  the  truth  as  he  conceived  it  even  when  it 
was  embarrassing  to  do  so.  As  an  illustration,  I  had  a  class 
in  Bourdon's  "Algebra,"  in  a  very  hard  part  of  the  book.  A 
member  of  the  class  who  had  been  his  pupil  the  year  before 
went  to  him  to  get  help,  complaining  that  the  lesson  was  too 
long.  Mr.  Moore,  thinking  that  Mr.  Hill,  my  associate,  taught 
all  the  mathematics  and  that  I  ought  to  know  what  the  class 
\vas  saying,  informed  me  the  next  time  he  met  me  that  those 


REMINISCENCES.  243 

algebra  lessons  were  too  long  and  that  Mr.  Hill  knew  nothing 
about  teaching  when  he  gave  such  lessons.  I  stated  that  this 
was  my  class  and  that  I  had  given  the  lessons.  I  well  remem- 
ber his  embarrassed  expression.  He  was  too  honest  to  take 
back  what  he  believed  to  be  true.  He  did  not  wish  to  wound 
his  friend.  He  felt  that  there  was  no  explanation  that  he  could 
consistently  make.  He  said  nothing  for  some  seconds.  I  finally 
relieved  the  tension  by  saying  that  I  guessed  the  lessons  were 
too  long  for  this  class ;  that  I  had  had  former  classes  to  do  this 
work,  but  if  this  class  could  not  I  would  shorten  the  lessons; 
and  that  my  associate  was  a  good  teacher  and  finally  thanked 
him  for  his  candor.  He  ever  afterwards  treated  me  with  great 
kindness  and  respect.  I  think  he  became  convinced  that  I 
knew  something  about  teaching,  as  he  in  after  years  sent  three 
of  his  daughters  to  school  to  me. 

I  have  always  appreciated  two  compliments  that  he  paid  me : 
that  I  had  religion  and  common  sense  and  that  I  knew  how  to 
kick  the  chunks  out  of  my  way  in  running  my  school. 

MRS.  S.  L.  W.  DANIEL. 

Mrs.  Susan  Lee  (Winfield)  Daniel  was  born  in  North  Caro- 
lina October  24,  1820,  and  died  in  Avondale,  Alabama,  May  i, 
1910,  being  nearly  ninety  years  of  age.  When  I  knew  her  in 
Summerfield,  whither  she  had  moved  on  account  of  the  schools, 
she  was  the  widowed  mother  of  ten  children,  eight  daughters 
and  two  sons.  Two  of  these  children  preceded  her,  two  have 
followed  her  to  the  goodly  land,  and  six  still  survive. 

Although  the  struggle  is  a  hard  one,  the  mother  can  rear  a 
family  better  than  the  father  can.  Somehow  God  helps  the 
widow,  and  somehow  in  the  process  she  often  develops  a  Chris- 
tian character  rarely  ever  seen  under  other  conditions.  Mrs. 
Daniel  was  one  of  my  nearest  neighbors  and  one  of  the  best. 
In  cases  of  sickness  and  death  in  my  family  she  was  a  friend 
indeed.  Her  piety  was  of  a  quiet  sort;  but,  measured  by  the 
standard  set  by  Christ  in  the  twenty-fifth  chapter  of  Matthew, 
she  should  be  numbered  among  those  on  his  right  hand. 

Her  sons  were  for  several  years  pupils  of  mine.     One  be- 


j44  REMINISCENCES. 

came  a  successful  business  man  in  Birmingham ;  the  other  is 
Dr.  John  Daniel,  a  professor  in  Vanderbilt  University.  These 
boys  had  to  work  hard  and  practice  economy  in  their  early 
years,  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  making  efficient  men 
when  there  is  reasonable  opportunity  for  education.  Mrs. 
Daniel's  history  has  verified  these  scriptures,  "With  long  life 
will  I  satisfy  him;"  and,  "I  have  not  seen  the  righteous  for- 
saken, nor  his  seed  begging  bread." 

DR.  S.  W.  VAUGHAN. 

Another  near  neighbor  was  Dr.  S.  W.  Vaughan,  who  was 
my  family  physician  and  one  of  the  best  I  ever  had.  He  was 
a  man  of  superior  ability,  not  only  as  a  physician,  but  as  an 
original  thinker.  He  was  a  religious  man,  but  of  a  different 
stamp  from  many  others  in  the  community.  He  was  a  strong 
believer  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  I  saw  this  exhibited  in  some 
of  the  trying  experiences  of  his  life,  especially  at  the  deathbed 
of  his  wife,  who  passed  away  not  only  in  peace,  but  in  triumph. 
The  Doctor  wras  sure  that  this  triumph  over  death  was  in  an- 
swer to  prayer.  Mrs.  Vaughan  was  a  splendid  woman,  was 
consistent  in  her  life,  but  never  made  such  public  demonstra- 
tions of  her  piety  as  some  I  have  mentioned. 

The  Doctor  could  not  indorse  some  of  the  doctrines  preached 
and  some  of  the  highly  wrought  states  of  feeling  in  the  reviv- 
als of  Summerfield.  He  thought  that  these  were  the  cause  of 
several  cases  of  insanity  in  the  neighborhood.  There  was  one 
remarkable  case  of  a  talented  young  preacher  who  became  vio- 
lently insane,  as  was  supposed,  on  account  of  his  intense  in- 
terest in  religious  doctrine.  He  was  like  the  man  of  Gadara. 
He  could  not  be  bound  with  chains  nor  kept  confined  in  the 
asylum.  The  very  mention  of  Sam  Briggs  spread  terror 
through  the  neighborhood. 

I  am  under  lasting  obligation  to  Dr.  Vaughan  and  his  family 
for  many  acts  of  kindness ;  also  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  L.  R.  Davis, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  T.  W.  Barker,  and  Mrs.  M.  A.  Jones.  I  wish 
also  to  mention  the  kindness  of  Dr.  C.  B.  Moore,  one  of  the 
physicians  who  attended  my  wife  in  her  last  illness. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Bishop  James  O.  Andrew — Colonel  Robert  A.  Baker — Mr.  Mark  Canning 
and  Wife — Friction  between  the  Races — Personal  Feeling  toward  the 
Negroes — Death  of  Mrs.  Fredonia  A.  Massey — Trouble  among  the 
Students — Advice  of  Dr.  Mitchell — Marriage  to  Miss  Elnora  Frances 
Dallas — The  Dallas  Family — Students  Who  Have  Become  Distinguished 
— Colonel  Samuel  Will  John. 

THE  most  noted  man  in  the  community  was  Bishop  James 
Osgood  Andrew.  He  was  born  in  Wilkes  County,  Geor- 
gia, in  1/94,  and  died  in  Mobile,  at  the  home  of  Rev.  J.  W. 
Rush,  his  son-in-law,  March  i,  1871.  He  was  an  itinerant 
preacher  in  the  South  Carolina  Conference  from  1816  to  1832. 
In  1832  he  was  elected  Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  and  served  the  entire  Church  till 
1844.  In  1844  he  married  a  lady  who  owned  slaves.  On  this 
account  the  Northern  members  of  the  General  Conference  of 
1844  desired  him  to  "desist  from  the  exercise  of  his  office." 
The  Southern  delegates  protested  against  this  action.  The 
matter  was  settled  by  dividing  the  Methodism  of  the  United 
States  into  two  Churches,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  and 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  former  occupied 
mainly  the  Northern,  or  nonslaveholding,  States  and  the  latter 
the  Southern,  or  slaveholding,  States.  This  seemed  to  be  the 
only  solution  of  the  matter  at  that  time.  Such  is  the  outline  as 
found  in  "The  Americana." 

Only  a  brief  filling  in  of  this  outline  will  show  him  to  have 
been  one  of  the  great  and  good  men  of  his  time.  He  was 
highly  endowed  by  nature.  He  had  a  big  brain  and  a  big 
heart,  into  which  the  Spirit  of  God  constantly  shone  from  his 
conversion,  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  The  following  sen- 
tences are  taken  from  Harper's  Magazine: 

Bishop  Andrew  had  not  many  helps  in  intellectual  culture  in  his  youth. 
The  schools  of  Georgia  were  few.  Men  of  wealth  could  send  their  sons  to 
Northern  colleges  or  abroad.  His  parents  were  not  able  to  give  him  these 
advantages  for  mental  culture.  But  his  religious  training  was  complete. 

(245) 


246  REMINISCENCES. 

His  father  was  a  devoted  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
his  mother  was  a  woman  of  extraordinary  intelligence,  dignity,  and  kind- 
ness. He  was  devoted  to  his  mother,  who  lived  to  see  the  tender  care  she 
had  bestowed  upon  her  cherished  son  richly  rewarded  in  a  life  of  great 
devotion,  unsullied  purity,  and  remarkable  success. 

He  was  licensed  to  preach  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen  and 
started  out  on  his  ministerial  career  with  nothing  but  his  Bible, 
hymn  book,  and  Discipline.  Besides  these  weapons,  he  was 
inspired  by  the  prayers  of  his  mother,  who  said :  "And  now, 
my  son,  remember  that  I  live  if  you  stand  fast  in  the  Lord  and 
continue  faithful  in  the  work  of  your  Master."  But  his  sensi- 
tive spirit  could  not  but  feel  keenly  his  limitations  for  this  most 
responsible  calling  that  ever  comes  to  men.  So  humiliated  was 
he  at  the  failure  of  his  first  attempt  to  preach  that  he  resolved 
to  abandon  the  ministry.  On  his  way  home  he  met  an  African 
slave  who  had  heard  him  preach.  The  negro  was  as  much  edi- 
fied by  the  effort  as  young  Andrew  was  depressed  by  it.  This 
was  a  critical  moment  in  his  life.  If  he  could  benefit  even  the 
humblest,  he  resolved  to  conquer  his  diffidence  and  to  go  on 
in  the  ministry.  From  this  time  there  was  opened  in  his  great 
heart  a  never- failing  fountain  of  love  and  sympathy  for  the 
lowly.  He  was  ever  ready  to  speak  in  their  behalf. 

Harper's  Magazine  gives  an  account  of  a  great  speech  made 
by  Mr.  Andrew  at  the  missionary  anniversary  of  the  South 
Carolina  Conference  early  in  1832.  Professor  Parks,  who  had 
a  great  reputation  as  an  orator,  was  slated  for  a  speech  which 
all  were  desirous  of  hearing.  Mr.  Andrew  was  called  to  make 
the  introductory  speech.  As  he  lifted  the  negro  out  of  his 
humble  condition  through  the  power  of  the  gospel  into  a  place 
in  his  Father's  house,  the  people,  who  had  been  accustomed  to 
hang  on  the  golden  tongue  of  William  Capers,  were  trans- 
ported into  ecstasy.  A  gentleman  distinguished  in  politics, 
who  had  heard  Henry  Clay  in  his  best  moods,  declared  that  he 
had  never  heard  him  equal  that  speech  of  Mr.  Andrew's.  Pro- 
fessor Parks  gracefully  excused  himself  from  following  so 
powerful  a  speech. 


REMINISCENCES.  247 

This  speech  was  made  in  behalf  of  the  missionary  work 
among  the  negroes.  Some  who  were  not  interested  in  mis- 
sions anywhere  were  afraid  that  such  work  among  the  slaves 
would  have  an  evil  influence.  But  the  zeal  and  eloquence  of 
Andrew  and  Capers  overcame  this  opposition  and  created  an 
active  missionary  organization  wrhich  extended  throughout  the 
South  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States.  This  opened  the  way  for  all 
the  preachers  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the  colored  people  through 
a  society  which  could  conserve  the  results.  Some  of  the  best 
preachers  gave  their  entire  time  to  this  work.  One  result  was 
to  accomplish  more  for  the  evangelization  of  the  African  than 
had  been  done  up  to  that  time  through  all  the  past  centuries. 
Another  result  was  to  counteract  the  influence  of  such  fanatical 
schemes  as  that  of  John  Brown  and  to  render  morally  impossi- 
ble during  the  war  and  the  Reconstruction  period  such  anarchy 
and  butchery  as  were  perpetrated  in  Santo  Domingo.  This 
successful  effort  in  Christianizing  the  negroes  has  been  singu- 
larly omitted  by  many  writers.  The  negroes  should  not  be  too 
much  blamed  if  they  have  forgotten  it,  since  the  drift  of  events 
has  tended  to  blot  it  from  their  memory. 

The  negro  never  had  a  better  friend  than  Bishop  Andrew. 
It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  that  the  most  devoted  friends  of 
a  good  cause  are  the  ones  to  suffer  most  from  misrepresenta- 
tion. It  was  so  with  Bishop  Andrew.  During  the  stormy  dis- 
cussions of  1844  and  afterwards  he  was  accused  of  selfish  and 
ignoble  motives,  but  through  it  all  he  bore  himself  with  ad- 
mirable self-possession  and  noble  dignity. 

I  knew  him  only  in  his  old  age  and  extreme  feebleness.  In 
the  few  efforts  which  I  heard  him  make  there  was  no  sign  of 
his  former  power  as  an  orator.  I  asked  Dr.  Mitchell,  who 
knew  him  in  his  prime,  how  he  in  his  old  age  compared  with 
himself  in  his  meridian.  The  Doctor  said  that  in  his  palmy 
days  he  was  a  man  of  great  power  in  the  pulpit  and  of  extraor- 
dinary common  sense  in  administration;  that,  while  his  power 
of  oratory  had  passed  with  the  vigor  of  his  manhood,  his  good 
judgment  and  genial  spirit  remained  like  a  glorious  sunset 
after  a  brilliant  day. 


248  REMINISCENCES. 

COLONEL  ROBERT  A.  BAKER. 

Another  prominent  man  of  Summer-field  was  Colonel  Robert 
A.  Baker.  He  had  just  moved  out  as  I  moved  in.  Although 
I  was  not  acquainted  with  him  through  personal  association,  I 
had  excellent  opportunities  for  becoming  acquainted  with  his 
character  and  methods  of  business.  During  my  first  year's 
residence  in  the  place  I  boarded  with  Mr.  Lewis  R.  Davis,  an 
intimate  friend  and  admirer  of  Colonel  Baker.  He  gave  me 
much  information  concerning  Colonel  Baker. 

Another  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted  with  his  spirit 
and  manner  of  life  grew  out  of  the  fact  that  he  was  the  execu- 
tor of  the  estate  of  Mr.  Alexander  Dallas  and  the  guardian 
of  his  minor  children,  one  of  whom  became  my  wife  seven 
years  later.  A  brief  reference  to  him  may  not,  therefore,  be 
out  of  place,  as  this  may  throw  some  light  on  the  history  of 
the  times.  He  was  a  man  of  large  brain  and  might  appropri- 
ately have  been  called  "Mr.  Greatheart."  He  was  interested  in 
every  good  work  that  was  going  on  and  was  ready  to  initiate 
any  enterprise  that  looked  to  the  betterment  of  his  fellow  men. 
He  was  a  leader  in  all  Church  work,  took  part  in  the  public 
discussions  of  the  day,  and  was  the  organizer  of  a  business  on 
a  great  scale.  He  was  a  cotton  factor,  whose  main  office  was 
located  in  Mobile,  the  center  of  the  cotton  trade.  He  was 
the  custodian  of  the  property  of  many  widows  and  orphans. 
There  were  no  such  institutions  as  guaranty  and  trust  compa- 
nies. Much  of  the  business  now  done  by  such  companies  was 
then  intrusted  to  the  hands  of  individual  men.  As  Colonel 
Baker  had  the  confidence  of  the  people,  much  of  this  business 
was  committed  to  his  management.  One  of  the  cardinal  prin- 
ciples of  his  business  code  was:  "Keep  in  debt,  as  this  stimu- 
lates activity  in  business."  He  never  carried  this  principle  so 
far  as  was  expressed  by  another  enterprising  business  man  in 
later  years :  "Keep  in  debt  about  two  jumps  ahead  of  the  sher- 
But  such  a  principle  is  lacking  in  proper  caution  and  in 
strict  regard  for  the  interests  of  other  people.  When  the  cur- 
rent of  business  runs  smoothly,  all  may  turn  out  well:  but 


REMINISCENCES.  249 

when  it  has  to  run  over  shoals  and  falls,  great  disasters  are 
often  the  result. 

When  the  war  came,  Colonel  Baker  was  heavily  loaded  with 
debt.  He  had  in  his  business  the  money  of  many  people  who 
could  least  afford  to  lose  it.  He  was  an  honest  man.  He  was 
keenly  alive  to  this  responsibility.  He  left  his  quiet  home  in 
Summerfield  soon  after  the  surrender,  went  to  Mobile,  and 
made  a  desperate  effort  to  carry  his  business  through  success- 
fully. But  the  task  was  too  great  for  a  man  past  middle  life. 
He  went  to  a  premature  grave  under  the  strain.  He  died  like 
many  another  good  and  great-hearted  man,  as  one  of  the  fatal 
results  of  the  war.  While  much  of  the  finest  blood  that  ever 
ran  in  Southern  veins  was  already  in  the  cold  ground  when 
the  Confederacy  went  down  in  tears,  still  much  more  was 
doomed  to  be  dried  up  in  its  fountains  through  disappoint- 
ment, sorrow,  and  grief. 

Mr.  W.  L.  Baker  did  all  he  could  to  keep  the  business  going 
after  his  father's  death  and  to  recoup  the  rightful  dues  to 
creditors  and  guardians,  but  that  business  had  gone  over  the 
falls  and  went  to  pieces  along  the  rapids  during  the  succeeding 
years  of  Reconstruction.  The  Dallas  heirs  never  received  much 
of  the  fine  estate  their  father  left  them  in  1858. 

MR.  MARK  CANNING  AND  His  WIFE. 

Mr.  Mark  Canning  was  another  citizen  with  whom  I  enter- 
tained the  most  cordial  relations  for  many  years.  He  came 
from  Ireland  in  his  early  manhood,  stopped  for  a  short  time  in 
Livingston,  Alabama,  and  worked  at  his  trade.  Mr.  Stephen 
Potts,  a  relative  of  Colonel  Baker,  discovered  the  fine  points 
in  the  character  and  the  mechanical  skill  of  this  young  man 
and  recommended  him  to  Colonel  Baker,  who  was  looking  for 
a  good  workman  for  his  town.  Through  the  influence  of  these 
gentlemen  Mr.  Canning  came  to  Summerfield.  As  soon  as  his 
fine  qualities  were  fully  proved,  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  owned  a 
blacksmith  and  wagon  shop,  took  him  in  as  a  partner.  He 
showed  such  efficiency  and  trustworthiness  that  the  Doctor 
committed  to  him  the  whole  management  of  the  business  and 


250  REMINISCENCES. 

the  care  of  his  house  while  he  went  to  Montgomery  to  take 
charge  of  Court  Street  Church.  So  satisfactory  was  Mr.  Can- 
ning's work,  much  of  which  he  did  with  his  own  hands,  that 
the  shop  drew  trade  from  the  adjacent  country  and  even  from 
Selma.  He  was  soon  able  to  buy  out  Dr.  Mitchell's  interest 
and  to  run  the  shop  successfully  on  his  own  account. 

\Yhile  he  was  a  man  of  limited  education,  he  was  endowed 
with  quick  perceptive  powers,  lively  sensibilities,  and  as  gener- 
ous impulses  as  any  man  ever  brought  from  the  emerald  hills 
of  Robert  Emmett  and  Daniel  O'Connell.  Proud  but  affable, 
self-respecting  but  full  of  good  cheer,  he  made  everybody  in 
the  village  feel  better  by  his  hearty  laughter.  He  dressed 
well,  drove  the  finest  horse  in  town,  and  associated  with  the 
most  cultivated  ladies  of  the  community.  He  married  Miss 
Sallie  Isabella  Dallas,  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  prominent 
families  of  the  place. 

He  had  imbibed  some  of  Colonel  Baker's  notions  of  borrow- 
ing money  and  doing  business  on  a  large  scale.  He  believed 
in  having  everything  done  in  fine  style.  He  had  no  patience 
with  a  niggardly  spirit.  He  sometimes  manifested  scant  re- 
spect for  small  economies.  The  following  instance  is  an  illus- 
tration. An  old  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Torbert  sent  two 
boys  to  my  school.  On  his  visits  to  Summerfield  he  would 
pay  fifty  cents  to  ride  from  Selma  on  a  wagon  rather  than  pay 
two  dollars  to  ride  in  a  fine  hack.  Mr.  Canning  thought  this 
was  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  gentleman. 

When  Mr.  Torbert's  boys  left  school  he  owed  me  seventy- 
one  dollars,  which  he  was  not  able  to  pay  on  account  of  the 
failure  of  the  crops  and  the  financial  panic  of  1873.  Eleven 
years  after  Mr.  Torbert's  boys  left  school  he  sent  me  a  post 
office  order  for  every  dollar  he  owed  me.  His  example  is  one 
of  many  that  should  put  us  on  guard  against  discounting  peo- 
ple who  practice  small  economies.  Such  people  are  often  hon- 
est ;  and  honesty  merits  respect,  even  if  not  so  amiable  a  qual- 
ity as  generosity. 

Mr.  Canning  was  doing  well  in  Summerfield,  but  he  decided 
to  move  to  Selma  and  enlarge  his  business  more  rapidly  than 


REMINISCENCES.  251 

he  could  do  by  his  annual  income.  He  had  a  fine  prospect. 
Extensive  additions  seemed  to  be  demanded  in  his  shops.  This 
required  more  money,  which  he  could  easily  borrow ;  but  when 
the  panic  of  1893  came  and  other  untoward  events  followed, 
he  had  to  close  his  business  hopelessly  involved  in  debt.  He 
went  to  his  grave  a  mournful  wreck  of  his  former  self.  Let 
the  shepherd's  song  in  Browning's  "Saul"  be  his  elegy: 

"The  man  taught  by  life's  dream,  of  rest  to  make  sure ; 
By  the  pain-throb,  triumphantly  winning  intensified  bliss, 
And  the  next  world's  reward  and  repose,  by  the  struggles  in  this." 

Mrs.  Sallie  I.  Canning  was  one  of  the  elect  ladies  of  the 
land.  After  she  moved  to  Selma,  in  1876,  she  became  an  en- 
thusiastic worker  in  the  United  Charities  of  that  city.  She 
was  full  of  good  works  and  almsdeeds,  like  Dorcas,  while  she 
lived ;  and  now  being  dead,  her  name  is  still  redolent  of  good 
deeds  among  her  neighbors,  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  both 
whites  and  negroes. 

FRICTION  BETWEEN  THE  RACES. 

The  session  of  187071  was  a  very  trying  one.  In  addition 
to  the  continued  decline  in  my  wife's  health,  some  ugly  troubles 
between  the  races  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  annoyance.  I  had 
always  entertained  a  friendly  feeling  toward  the  negroes  and 
could  get  along  with  them;  but  young,  hot-blooded  students 
could  not  live  peaceably  with  them,  especially  when  the  negroes 
were  incited  by  a  low  class  of  "carpetbaggers"  and  "scala- 
wags" who  were  trying  to  climb  into  places  of  profit  and  power 
by  stirring  up  strife  between  the  races  in  order  to  curry  favor 
with  the  national  government.  The  leaders  of  the  Republican 
party  at  that  time  may  have  been  honest,  but  it  is  hard  for  any 
man  who  lived  through  the  days  of  Reconstruction  to  believe 
that  they  were  fair  judges  of  the  situation. 

The  friction  between  the  whites  and  the  negroes  became  at 
one  time  very  acute.  A  difficulty  arose  between  a  student  and 
a  negro.  A  company  of  negroes  surrounded  the  room  of  the 
student  and  made  some  ill-natured  demonstrations.  The  other 
students  and  a  number  of  white  men  collected  for  the  protec- 


252  REMINISCENCES. 

tion  of  the  student.  The  negroes,  knowing  that  they  were 
backed  by  great  numbers  in  the  county  and  by  the  carpetbag 
rulers  in  Selma,  grew  very  insolent.  Some  of  the  older  white 
men  and  some  of  the  negroes  held  a  meeting  in  the  interest  of 
peace.  But  some  of  the  leading  negroes  did  not  want  peace. 
They  kept  stirring  up  the  animosity  of  the  negroes  in  Selma 
till  they  finally  threatened  to  come  out  to  Summer-field  and  burn 
the  town.  \Yhile  I  knew  that  threats  were  cheap  and  should 
not  be  taken  too  seriously,  I  did  not  know  to  what  lengths 
mean  whisky  and  malicious  white  men  might  lead  a  crowd  of 
ignorant  negroes  inflamed  beyond  the  control  of  reason.  As 
we  were  afterwards  informed,  three  hundred  did  start  with  the 
express  purpose  of  executing  this  threat;  but  they  were  halted 
and  turned  back  on  the  outskirts  of  Selma  by  a  company  of 
determined  white  men  headed  by  Captain  Joseph  F.  Johnston, 
afterwards  Governor  and  later  United  States  Senator.  It 
is  due  Senator  Johnston  to  say  that  he  did  valiant  service  in 
rescuing  the  State  from  the  domination  of  ignorance  and 
fraud.  He  was  an  efficient  man  wherever  he  served. 

In  these  troublous  times  we  were,  of  course,  determined  to 
defend  ourselves;  but  it  was  a  distressing  situation  to  be  placed 
in  when  we  might  be  forced  to  take  the  lives  of  ignorant  be- 
ings egged  on  by  bad  leaders  who  would  slip  back  out  of  the 
range  of  all  risk  when  danger  came.  I  felt  that  if  I  had  to 
choose  between  open  wrar  with  an  honorable  foe  and  this  state 
of  things,  I  should  choose  war. 

The  most  deplorable  result  of  the  Reconstruction  period  was 
the  alienation  of  the  negroes  from  the  whites.  The  leaders 
under  carpetbag  rule  sought  to  accomplish  this  alienation  for 
selfish  purposes.  Some  of  the  white  teachers  in  the  colored 
schools  of  that  period,  prompted  no  doubt  by  humane  motives, 
thought  that  the  surest  way  to  elevate  the  negro  to  independ- 
ence was  to  separate  him  from  the  sympathy  and  the  service  of 
his  former  master.  These  teachers  did  not  have  the  sanity 
and  the  vision  of  General  S.  C.  Armstrong,  who  saw  that  these 
ill-timed  efforts  to  thrust  the  negro  forward  before  he  was 
ready  for  self-government  wrere,  as  he  expressed  it.  "like  a 


REMINISCENCES.  253 

wooden  bridge  built  over  a  river  of  fire."  These  unwise  at- 
tempts, occurring  simultaneously  with  the  insolent  conduct  of 
those  in  political  power,  backed  by  the  army,  sometimes  pro- 
voked the  Southern  people  to  acts  of  violence  which  increased 
the  animosity  between  the  races.  This  hostile  feeling,  like  the 
opening  of  a  levee  and  "the  letting  out  of  water,"  was  more 
easily  started  than  stopped. 

PERSONAL  FEELING  TOWARD  THE  NEGROES. 

After  saying  this  let  me  say  again  that  I  entertain  none  but 
kind  feelings  toward  the  colored  people.  It  should  never  be 
forgotten  that  before  the  war  the  relations  between  them  and 
their  masters  were,  in  the  main,  very  cordial;  that  during  the 
war  they  remained  peaceable  on  the  farms  and  made  the  crops 
for  the  support  of  the  country  while  most  of  the  white  men 
were  in  the  army ;  that  some  of  them,  as  I  have  already  stated, 
exhibited  remarkable  fidelity  to  their  masters  under  trying 
circumstances;  and  that  during  the  days  of  Reconstruction 
they  did  not  do  so  badly  as  might  have  been  expected.  The 
Indians  of  America  would  have  done  worse,  as  hundreds  of 
scalps  proved.  The  Indians  of  Asia  would  have  been  more 
malignant,  as  the  Black  Hole  in  Calcutta  showed. 

It  will  be  a  mark  of  wisdom  in  the  colored  people  to  endure 
their  lot  patiently  till  they  can,  by  working  according  to  the 
laws  of  God,  make  their  condition  better.  It  will  be  a  mark 
of  magnanimity  in  the  white  people  to  treat  them  in  a  spirit  of 
forbearance,  kindness,  and  fairness  while  they  are  trying  to 
improve  their  condition.  It  will  be  the  part  of  humanity  and 
piety  in  both  races  to  "bear  each  other's  burdens"  and  to  seek 
the  guidance  of  the  universal  Father,  who  can  bring  order  out 
of  chaos,  light  out  of  darkness,  and  good  out  of  evil  when  his 
laws  are  reverenced  and  obeyed. 

On  October  14,  1871,  in  Summerfield,  Alabama,  my  daugh- 
ter, Fredonia  Eva  Massey,  was  born.  She  has  always  been 
appreciative  of  her  opportunities  for  education.  After  grad- 
uating from  the  Alabama  Conference  Female  College,  she  spent 


254  REMINISCENCES. 

three  years  in  the  New  England  Conservatory  of  Music,  com- 
pleting the  course  for  graduation  in  pianoforte.  Since  then 
she  has  studied  two  years  in  Berlin  and  three  years  in  Paris. 
She  has  the  reputation  of  being  an  excellent  teacher;  and, 
what  is  still  more  to  her  credit,  I  never  knew  her  to  be  guilty 
of  a  falsehood.  She  inherited  many  of  her  mother's  fine  qual- 
ities. It  is  my  devout  wish  that  she  may  cultivate  the  faith  in 
Christ  that  sustained  her  mother  to  the  end. 

DEATH  OF  MRS.  FREDONIA  A.  MASSEY. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  session  of  1871-72  I  took  no  stu- 
dents into  my  family  on  account  of  my  wife's  health,  which 
continued  to  decline.  Several  weeks  before  the  end  came  I  had 
called  for  her  mother,  who  came  promptly  and  remained  till 
the  worst  was  all  over. 

The  doctors  had  told  me  that  they  saw  no  chance  for  my 
wife's  recovery.  The  day  before  she  died  she  asked  me  what 
they  thought  of  her  case.  I  felt  obliged  to  tell  her  what  they 
said.  She  closed  her  eyes  as  if  in  solemn  prayer  for  some 
moments.  She  evidently  felt  that  she  was  facing  the  awful 
change.  I  read  to  her  portions  of  the  fourteenth  chapter  of 
John  and  tried  to  center  her  faith  on  Christ,  who  had  gone  to 
prepare  a  place  for  her  whenever  it  was  His  will  to  take  her  to 
Himself.  I  had  been  feeling  for  several  days  that  I  could  not 
bear  to  see  her  go  out  into  the  darkness  of  death.  I  prayed 
most  earnestly  that  God  would  make  her  way  clear,  if  it  was 
His  will  to  take  her.  The  following  evening  she  seemed  per- 
fectly reconciled.  Her  mind  was  as  clear  as  it  had  ever  been. 
She  spoke  to  me  about  the  children  and  expressed  concern  for 
them.  She  said  that  she  did  not  ask  fame  or  fortune  for  them ; 
she  only  desired  that  they  might  be  prepared  for  eternity.  She 
sent  messages  to  her  relatives  in  Jackson.  She  gave  directions 
about  her  burial  and  bade  us  all  an  affectionate  farewell,  in- 
cluding the  servant,  Lavinia,  whom  she  exhorted  to  lead  a 
good  life  and  meet  her  in  heaven.  During  the  night  she  asked 
us  to  sing.  Rev.  A.  D.  McVoy  sang,  at  her  request : 


REMINISCENCES.  255 

"Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  thy  bosom  fly, 
While  the  nearer  waters  roll, 

While  the  tempest  still  is  high! 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide, 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide, 

0  receive  my  soul  at  last ! 

Other  refuge  have  I  none; 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  thee: 
Leave,  ah !  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me : 
All  my  trust  on  thee  is  stayed, 

All  my  help  from  thee  I  bring; 
Cover  my  defenseless  head 

With  the  shadow  of  thy  wing. 

Thou,  O  Christ,  art  all  I  want; 

More  than  all  in  thee  I  find; 
Raise  the  fallen,  cheer  the  faint, 

Heal  the  sick,  and  lead  the  blind. 
Just  and  holy  is  thy  name, 

1  am  all  unrighteousness; 
False  and  full  of  sin  I  am, 

Thou  art  full  of  truth  and  grace. 

Plenteous  grace  with  thee  is  found, 

Grace  to  cover  all  my  sin : 
Let  the  healing  streams  abound; 

Make  and  keep  me  pure  within. 
Thou  of  life  the  fountain  art, 

Freely  let  me  take  of  thee : 
Spring  thou  up  within  my  heart, 

Rise  to  all  eternity." 

In  parts  of  this  hymn  she  joined  with  evident  joy.  Among 
her  last  utterances  was  the  prayer  of  Stephen:  "Lord  Jesus, 
receive  my  spirit."  After  several  hours  of  unconsciousness, 
she  passed  away  at  twelve  o'clock  the  next  day,  November  21, 
1871.  When  it  was  all  over,  I  felt  sure  that  she  was  released 
from  suffering  and  was  at  rest  in  Paradise.  Her  mother, 
though  deeply  afflicted,  bore  it  with  striking  Christian  forti- 
tude. 

We  carried  her  body  to  Jackson,  Alabama,  and  laid  it  away 
in  the  family  graveyard.  The  good-hearted  Lavinia  went  with 


256  REMINISCENCES. 

us  to  take  care  of  the  children,  the  oldest  four  years  old,  the 
next  two,  and  the  youngest  six  weeks. 

In  this  connection  I  shall  mention  the  unselfish  friendship 
of  my  neighbor,  Rev.  Simon  Peter  Richardson,  who  went  with 
me  at  his  own  expense  on  this  sad  trip  and  delivered  a  beautiful 
funeral  discourse  in  honor  of  my  wife.  He  also  baptized  the 
baby,  Fredonia  Eva  Massey,  while  in  Jackson. 

I  had  to  return  to  my  school  and  my  desolate  home.  My 
little  boy  Johnnie  was  so  distressed  on  my  leaving  that  it  al- 
most broke  my  heart ;  but  I  had  to  go  to  work  to  make  a  living 
for  myself  and  my  children,  and  I  also  felt  a  new  motive  to 
do  something  to  relieve  the  sorrows  of  the  world  as  well  as  to 
relieve  my  o\vn  necessities.  I  found  useful  occupation  to  be 
a  great  solace  in  sorrow. 

\Yhen  I  went  to  Jackson  sometime  later  to  see  my  children, 
my  little  boy  clung  to  me  so  tenaciously,  begging  me  not  to 
leave  him  again,  that  I  determined,  contrary  to  the  judgment 
of  his  grandmother,  to  take  him  back  to  Summerfield  with  me. 
Never  was  a  child  more  devoted  to  his  father.  He  was  per- 
fectly contented  with  me  and  was  a  great  consolation  to  my 
bereaved  spirit. 

He  generally  went  with  me  to  the  academy  in  the  morning 
and  played  around  the  yard  while  I  was  engaged  with  my 
classes.  Sometimes  I  left  him  with  Mrs.  Daniel,  my  next-door 
neighbor.  She  and  my  other  kind  neighbors  nursed  him 
through  a  severe  spell  of  fever  in  the  fall  of  1872.  My  faith- 
ful servant  Lavinia  did  much  in  helping  me  to  take  care  of  him. 

My  two  younger  children  I  had  to  leave  with  their  big- 
hearted  grandmother  and  her  faithful  daughters.  My  sister- 
in-law,  Miss  Teresa  Taylor,  took  charge  of  the  baby,  to  whom 
she  was  as  much  devoted  as  if  it  had  been  her  own  child. 
During  the  winter  the  children  had  the  whooping  cough,  which 
greatly  increased  her  labor  and  anxiety.  I  am  under  lasting 
obligation  to  her  as  well  as  to  her  mother  and  sisters.  As  some 
compensation  for  her  care  of  my  children  at  a  time  when  I 
could  not  take  care  of  them  myself,  years  afterwards,  when 


REMINISCENCES.  257 

she  was  in  her  grave,  I  took  her  daughter,  Eva  Graham,  and 
kept  her  in  college  for  six  years,  till  her  graduation. 

TROUBLE  AMONG  THE  STUDENTS. 

During  these  years,  besides  my  own  private  sorrows,  I  had 
trouble  with  some  turbulent  boys  whom  revival  meetings  could 
not  work  into  peaceable,  to  say  nothing  of  saintly,  ways.  I 
had  difficulty  not  only  in  keeping  them  from  a  state  of  antag- 
onism with  the  negroes,  but  at  one  time  from  a  state  of  war 
between  two  factions  in  the  school.  This  became  very  acute. 
I  had  used  moral  suasion  and  all  milder  means  till  patience 
ceased  to  be  a  virtue.  After  trying  for  a  week  to  reason  the 
demon  out  of  the  boys,  I  got  up  on  Monday  morning,  after  a 
troublous  Sunday,  determined  to  cast  him  out  or  cast  the  boys 
out.  I  put  on  my  best  suit  of  clothes.  I  always  had  a  sort  of 
instinct  that  there  is  some  virtue  in  good  clothes,  though  I  had 
not  always  been  able  to  wear  them.  I  went  to  the  academy  fully 
determined  what  I  would  do.  A  full  determination  even  in  a 
crisis  sets  the  mind  somewhat  at  ease. 

I  told  the  boys  in  a  few  words  that  I  had  been  dealing  with 
them  as  gentlemen  and  that  this  course  had  met  with  slight  re- 
sponse, that  I  had  decided  that  the  peace  of  the  school  should 
be  disturbed  no  longer,  and  that  all  who  were  not  willing  to 
respect  my  wishes  for  harmony  and  good  order  must  go  now. 
I  asked  the  leader  on  one  side  whether  he  wished  to  go  now  or 
to  remain  on  terms  of  permanent  peace.  He  looked  rather 
taken  aback  and  said  that  he  wanted  to  stay  in  school  and 
would  promise  to  comply  with  my  wishes.  I  asked  the  leader 
of  the  other  faction  what  he  wished  to  do.  He  said  that  he 
was  willing  to  make  peace  and  would  promise  to  maintain  it. 
I  said :  ''Now,  don't  make  any  promises  unless  you  are  going 
to  keep  them.  Any  renewal  of  these  disturbances  will  after 
this,  ipso  facto,  cut  you  off.  If  you  know  your  minds  and 
mean  to  avoid  strife,  meet  here  in  front  of  my  desk  and  shake 
hands  as  a  ratification  of  your  promises."  This  they  did. 
Then  I  asked  all  who  were  willing  to  bury  all  differences  and 
to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  good  will  to  hold  up  their  hands.  All 
17 


258  REMINISCENCES. 

hands  went  up.  I  had  gained  my  point.  As  they  retired  from 
the  room  at  recess,  those  who  had  been  at  daggers'  points  went 
out  locked  in  each  other's  arms. 

A  few  times  in  my  experience  as  a  teacher  I  have  had  to  pass 
a  critical  point,  which  I  managed  to  do  successfully.  I  always 
avoided  making  a  sharp  issue,  if  possible.  There  is  danger  in 
it.  It  is  not  best  to  brandish  the  sword  of  justice  too  freely, 
but  it  has  to  be  drawn  sometimes.  When  it  is  drawn,  it  must 
be  used,  as  far  as  necessary,  to  secure  respect  for  rightful  au- 
thority. 

ADVICE  OF  DR.  MITCHELL. 

After  the  death  of  my  wife,  I  had  no  disposition  to  go  into 
society.  I  did  not  seek  the  company  of  ladies.  Her  life  and 
death  had  made  a  profound  impression  upon  me.  I  can  under- 
stand the  liability  of  people  of  deep  feeling  to  cultivate  morbid 
sentiments  for  the  dead  to  an  unreasonable  degree  without 
being  aware  of  it. 

In  the  spring  of  1873  Dr.  Mitchell  took  the  liberty  of  sug- 
gesting to  me  the  second  time  that,  as  I  was  still  a  young  man, 
I  might  make  a  mistake  in  remaining  single  too  long;  that 
the  solitary  life  I  was  living  was  not  the  most  conducive  either 
to  my  usefulness  or  to  my  happiness ;  that  it  would  not  be  well 
to  have  my  children  grow  up  away  from  me;  that  if  another 
woman  was  ever  to  take  charge  of  them  it  would  be  best  to 
make  the  change  while  they  were  young ;  and  that  he  had  been 
through  a  similar  experience  and  advised  me  to  entertain  the 
thought  of  a  second  marriage.  I  made  no  reply,  but  took  the 
matter  under  consideration. 

I  found  upon  examination  that  the  parables  of  Christ  threw 
light  on  the  relation  of  the  sexes  in  the  future  life;  that  "they 
who  shall  be  accounted  worthy  to  attain  that  world  and  the 
resurrection  from  the  dead  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage;  .  .  .  for  they  are  equal  unto  the  angels  of  God," 
plainly  teaching  that  some  of  the  affinities  of  this  world  are  not 
perpetuated  in  the  next,  except  as  they  have  helped  us,  as  all 
human  affinities  should  do,  to  grow  up  into  those  higher  uni- 
versal relations  that  exist  in  the  family  of  God  in  heaven.  I 


REMINISCENCES.  259 

saw  that,  while  I  was  living  in  the  world,  it  would  be  best  to 
use  the  ordinances  which  God  has  established  and  designed  to 
promote  our  highest  development  and  greatest  usefulness. 

I  had  had  no  ordinary  woman  for  a  wife,  and  I  was  sure 
that  I  did  not  want  an  ordinary  one.  But,  then,  where  could 
I  find  one  who  would  appeal  to  my  imagination  and  hold  my 
affections?  There  was  a  young  woman  who  had  graduated 
two  years  before  with  distinguished  honors  under  President 
W.  J.  Vaughn  and  was  considered  by  President  McVoy  as  the 
most  accomplished  and  valuable  teacher  in  his  faculty.  She 
was  very  modest,  but  dignified  and  attractive,  a  young  woman 
of  refined  manners  and  discriminating  taste,  as  was  shown  by 
the  fine  exhibitions  which  she  directed.  Would  so  accom- 
plished a  young  woman  be  willing  to  unite  her  fortune  with  a 
poor  man  handicapped  with  three  little  children?  I  did  not 
know ;  but,  be  this  as  it  might,  I  knew  that  I  would  never  win 
the  kind  of  woman  that  could  appeal  to  me  if  I  did  not  show 
self-respecting  manhood  enough  to  appeal  to  her  fancy.  She 
was  living  with  her  brother-in-law,  a  good  friend  of  mine.  I 
asked  him  if  there  was  any  objection  to  my  visiting  Miss  Dal- 
las at  his  home.  He  said  there  was  none.  I  then  asked  her 
permission  to  visit  her  in  a  social  way.  She  granted  it.  And 
so  the  matter  went  on  till  our  engagement  was  made  for  the 
following  fall. 

MARRIAGE  TO  Miss  ELNORA  FRANCES  DALLAS. 

As  I  had  to  get  my  house  in  order  to  take  some  boarding 
pupils  the  ensuing  season  and  had  to  bring  my  two  younger 
children  from  Jackson,  I  thought  it  best  for  our  marriage  to 
take  place  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer.  We  were  married 
on  July  9,  1873,  by  President  A.  D.  McVoy. 

THE  DALLAS  FAMILY. 

Mr.  Alexander  Dallas  was  born  on  the  Island  of  Islay, 
Scotland,  February  14,  1798.  At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 
came  to  the  United  States,  landing  in  South  Carolina.  By 
diligent  work  and  careful  economy  he  accumulated  a  small 


26o  REMINISCENCES. 

capital.  With  this  he  came  to  Alabama,  settling  first  near  Bel- 
mont,  in  Sumter  County.  Later  he  crossed  the  Bigbee  River 
into  Greene  County  and  bought  the  plantation  on  which  he 
lived  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

While  he  was  in  South  Carolina  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Eliza  Lucy,  who  died  in  the  Belmont  home,  leaving  six  chil- 
dren. About  two  years  later  he  was  married  again,  to  Miss 
Frances  B.  Jackson,  whose  family  also  had  come  from  South 
Carolina.  Though  not  yet  seventeen  years  old,  she  was  a 
woman  of  great  strength  and  dignity,  who  through  her  whole 
life  commanded  the  respect  and  affection  of  her  husband's 
children  by  his  first  marriage.  She  herself  became  the  mother 
of  eight  children,  all  of  whom  but  one  grew  to  maturity. 

Both  husband  and  wife  were  endowed  by  nature  with  a  high 
degree  of  common  sense  and  wonderful  capacity  for  toil  and 
endurance.  She,  like  Solomon's  wise  woman,  looked  well  to 
the  ways  of  her  household,  while  he  gave  his  personal  super- 
intendence to  the  affairs  of  his  plantation.  While  a  kind  and 
considerate  master,  he  knew  what  good  work  was  and  always 
managed  to  secure  the  best  efforts  of  his  slaves.  He  took  an 
honest  pride  in  his  work.  A  man  of  robust  health,  he  was 
never  known  to  be  ill.  When  death  came  to  him,  it  was  by  an 
accident.  While  superintending  the  starting  of  a  new  gin  his 
sleeve  was  caught  in  the  saws,  his  arm  was  drawn  in,  and  the 
arteries  were  so  badly  lacerated  that  he  bled  to  death  before  a 
physician  could  be  summoned,  October  23,  1858. 

Our  plan  in  the  war  was  to  tie  a  cord  or  a  handkerchief  very 
tightly  above  the  wound  till  a  better  appliance  could  be  ob- 
tained. If  this  had  been  done  in  Mr.  Dallas's  case,  his  life 
would  probably  have  been  saved.  Dying  at  the  age  of  sixty, 
he  had  reared  and  educated  eight  of  his  fourteen  children  and 
accumulated  an  estate  worth  about  seventy-five  thousand  dol- 
lars, which,  through  the  disasters  of  war,  ran  to  waste  in  the 
next  few  years. 

Mr.  Dallas  took  much  interest  in  promoting  good  schools  in 
the  community.  His  active  mind  was  so  eager  for  knowledge 
that  he  was  careful  to  improve  himself  by  a  wide  range  of 


REMINISCENCES.  261 

good  reading,  especially  in  history,  biography,  and  religious 
literature.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig  and  an  ardent  admirer 
of  Henry  Clay.  His  faith  in  God  was  the  crowning  glory  of 
his  strong  and  useful  life.  He  conducted  family  worship  in 
his  home  and  frequently  called  in  his  slaves  for  prayer  and 
religious  instruction.  When  they  got  married,  he  had  the  cere- 
mony performed  by  a  minister  and  gave  them  a  wedding  feast. 
Mighty  in  prayer  and  fervent  in  exhortation,  he  served  his 
Church  well  as  steward  and  class  leader.  Rev.  Josiah  Barker, 
who  was  once  his  pastor,  told  me  something  of  his  whole- 
hearted piety,  which  often  broke  forth  in  praises  to  God.  Dur- 
ing the  annual  protracted  meetings  he  was  always  careful  to 
look  after  the  entertainment  of  visitors  from  other  communi- 
ties. 

Mrs.  Frances  Jackson  Dallas,  his  wife,  was  equally  as  strong 
a  character  as  her  husband,  but  of  a  less  demonstrative  tem- 
perament. In  the  language  of  Dr.  Mitchell,  who  knew  her 
well: 

Her  piety  was  quiet,  but  decided;  not  very  demonstrative,  but  very 
consistent;  always  upon  the  side  of  right  and  ready  for  every  good  word 
and  work.  Hers  was  a  well-rounded  Christian  character;  "not  slothful  in 
business,  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord."  Like  the  woman  in  the 
Gospel,  "she  did  what  she  could"  while  she  lived ;  and,  having  served  her 
generation  according  to  the  will  of  God,  she,  like  David,  "fell  on  sleep 
and  was  laid  to  her  fathers." 

Next  to  the  youngest  child  of  these  worthy  parents  was  EI- 
nora  Frances  Massey,  who  inherited  their  intelligence,  energy, 
and  philanthropic  spirit,  and  who  did  honor  to  them  and  to 
every  relation  that  she  sustained  in  her  passage  through  the 
world. 

STUDENTS  WHO  BECAME  DISTINGUISHED. 

The  session  of  1873-74  opened  with  only  a  moderate  patron- 
age. We  had  just  passed  through  the  financial  panic  of  1873, 
and  money  was  very  scarce — a  condition  that  always  works  a 
hardship  on  schools  dependent  on  patronage  for  support.  The 
work  of  the  year  went  on  without  any  striking  features.  As 
this  was  my  eighth  and,  as  it  turned  out  to  be,  my  last  year 


262  REMINISCENCES. 

at  Summerfield,  I  shall  here  give  a  resume  of  the  work.  Dur- 
ing these  rather  inauspicious  years  I  had  many  good  students 
and  some  very  superior  ones,  quite  a  number,  considering  the 
size  of  the  school,  who  have  attained  large  influence.  Among 
them  Dr.  John  S.  Frazer,  who  is  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  Alabama  Conference,  and  the  late  Dr.  V.  O.  Hawkins, 
of  the  North  Alabama  Conference,  are  representative  clergy- 
men; Judge  John  R.  Tyson,  formerly  Chief  Justice  of  Ala- 
bama, the  late  Judge  J.  C.  Richardson,  Mr.  F.  M.  Jackson,  the 
late  Freeman  Daniel,  of  Birmingham,  Mr.  Henry  L.  Gaines, 
Dr.  Vivian  P.  Gaines,  of  Mobile,  and  Dr.  John  Daniel,  of 
Vanderbilt  University,  are  representative  laymen. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  among  the  students  of  those  years 
was  Rev.  Robert  T.  Nabors,  who  became  well  known  as  an 
orator.  Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgerald  wrote  this  eulogy: 

Rev.  R.  T.  Nabors,  Chaplain  of  Vanderbilt  University,  died  of  pneu- 
monia on  Tuesday,  April  i,  1884.  The  body  was  laid  to  rest  in  the  Van- 
derbilt burying  ground  amid  manifestations  of  profound  feeling.  He  died 
early,  but  he  lived  long  enough  to  develop  a  Christian  character  of  ex- 
quisite symmetry  and  beauty;  long  enough  to  impress  his  influence  upon  a 
large  and  rapidly  widening  circle  of  admiring  and  affectionate  friends ; 
long  enough  to  attain  a  pulpit  excellence  rarely  equaled ;  long  enough  to 
leave  a  name  that,  in  the  circle  of  those  who  knew  him  as  he  was,  will  be 
linked  with  those  of  Summerfield  and  Cookman. 

In  1880  he  preached  the  commencement  sermon  before  the 
Alabama  Conference  Female  College.  Many  who  heard  it 
pronounced  it  the  most  eloquent  sermon  that  they  had  ever 
heard.  When  I  offered  to  pay  him  for  his  services,  he  would 
take  nothing,  saying:  "You  have  already  paid  me  many  times 
in  what  you  did  for  me  in  Summerfield." 

Altogether,  I  feel  assured  that  my  work  was  not  in  vain, 
though  not  a  financial  success  and  not  without  trouble  and 
sorrow.  Summerfield  was  on  the  wane.  It  was  an  inaccessible 
place,  in  addition  to  the  drawback  mentioned  on  a  former  page. 
It  was  becoming  harder  every  year  to  get  patronage  from  a 
distance.  Upon  the  foreign  patronage  the  school  had  mainly 
to  rely,  as  the  local  patronage  was  small.  I  had  come  to  see 
that  this  was  not  now  a  good  location  for  a  school,  whatever  it 


REMINISCENCES.  263 

might  have  been  in  former  years  under  entirely  different  con- 
ditions. I  saw  that,  if  I  was  ever  to  do  much  as  a  teacher,  I 
must  go  where  the  pupils  were  to  be  found. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  in  July,  1874,  some  of  the  trus- 
tees were  very  desirous  that  I  should  take  charge  of  both 
schools,  the  female  college  as  well  as  the  male  academy.  Pro- 
fessor McVoy  had  been  talking  about  going  away.  I  reluc- 
tantly consented  to  the  arrangement  on  two  conditions :  First, 
that  McVoy  was  not  to  be  superseded  unless  his  resignation 
was  voluntarily  offered;  and,  second,  that  the  proposed  ar- 
rangement should  meet  the  unanimous  approval  of  the  Board. 
The  Board  by  a  majority  vote  decided  to  place  both  schools 
under  my  supervision.  I  found  that  McVoy  was  very  much 
hurt  at  the  action  of  the  Board  and  that  this  action  was  not 
unanimous.  I  positively  declined  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
an  arrangement  that  would  displace  a  fellow  teacher.  McVoy 
was  retained  for  another  year. 

COLONEL  SAMUEL  WILL  JOHN. 

During  my  residence  in  Summerfield  I  became  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  family  of  Judge  J.  R.  John,  of  Selma,  one 
of  whose  sons,  Samuel  Will,  I  had  known  at  the  University. 
This  young  man  of  positive  and  courageous  temperament  stood 
ready  to  check  all  forms  of  shirking  and  deception  among  his 
fellow  cadets.  His  conduct  was  prophetic  of  what  he  has  since 
become,  one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  citizens 
of  the  commonwealth,  one  who  regards  the  welfare  of  the 
public  above  his  own  advancement.  He  deserves  honorable 
mention,  not  only  because  he  has  been  my  intimate  friend  for 
fifty  years,  but  also  because  he  has  rendered  valuable  sugges- 
tions in  the  preparation  of  these  notes.  I  had  the  honor  of 
teaching  his  daughter,  Miss  Estelle  John,  and  of  graduating 
his  niece,  Miss  Mary  Blandin,  during  my  connection  with  the 
college  in  Tuskegee.  Two  of  his  sisters,  Misses  Mary  and 
Annie  John,  were  college  mates  and  bosom  friends  of  my  wife, 
Elnora  Frances  Dallas,  with  whom  the  latter  divided  the  first 
honors  of  their  class. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Move  to  Mobile — Mr.  William  Otis — Father  Abram  J.  Ryan — Dr.  E.  P. 
Gaines — Dr.  Jefferson  Hamilton — Dawn  of  a  Brighter  Day  for  the 
South — The  Last  Speech  of  Jefferson  Davis. 

TN  September,  1874,  I  had  some  communication  with  Dr. 
•*•  Hamilton,  presiding  elder  of  the  Mobile  District,  relative  to 
a  district  high  school  which  his  District  Conference  had  re- 
solved to  establish  in  the  city  of  Mobile.  The  committee  that 
had  charge  of  the  matter  offered  me  two  thousand  dollars  and 
a  house  to  live  in  for  the  first  year,  with  the  understanding  that 
suitable  buildings  should  be  erected  for  the  future  operation  of 
the  school.  I  offered  my  resignation  to  the  Board  of  Centenary 
Institute  and  made  my  arrangements  to  move  to  Mobile. 

I  went  ahead  of  my  family  and  opened  the  school.  In  a  few 
days  a  letter  came  from  my  wife  stating  that  Johnnie  was  sick. 
Soon  afterwards  came  the  sad  intelligence  that  he  had  diph- 
theria and  later  a  summons  to  return  to  Summerfield  at  once. 
I  found  my  bright,  beautiful  seven-year-old  boy  at  death's 
door.  This  was  a  distressing  sight.  He  died  on  October  10, 
1874;  and  we  buried  him  near  Bryan  Dallas,  my  wife's  brother, 
who  was  killed  in  the  army  and  whose  remains  were  brought 
home  for  interment.  Though  the  loss  of  this  intelligent  and 
interesting  boy,  who  had  been  my  close  companion,  grieved  me 
sorely,  I  did  not  complain.  I  recalled  that  Christ  had  said,  in 
speaking  of  children :  "Their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face 
of  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven."  I  knew  not  what  trouble  and 
anguish  God  had  saved  him  from  by  taking  him  while  his 
"mind  was  pure  and  form  was  young." 

"Go  to  thy  rest,  fair  child, 

Go  to  thy  dreamless  bed, 
Gentle  and  meek  and  mild, 

With  blessings  on  thy  head; 
Ere  sin  could  wound  thy  breast, 

Or  sorrow  wake  the  tear, 
Rise  to  thy  home  of  rest 

In  yon  celestial  sphere." 
(264) 


REMINISCENCES.  265 

As  soon  as  possible  I  returned  to  Mobile  with  my  family 
and  resumed  my  work  in  the  school,  which  Dr.  William  Shap- 
ard,  pastor  of  St.  Francis  Street  Church,  had  kindly  carried  on 
during  my  absence. 

There  was  an  epidemic  of  smallpox  in  the  city,  and  yellow 
flags  were  posted  all  around  us  during  the  whole  winter.  We 
were  vaccinated;  and  after  the  first  flush  of  apprehension  we 
went  wherever  we  pleased  in  the  city  with  immunity  from  the 
disease. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  we  united  with  Franklin  Street 
Church  ("the  old  beehive")  because  my  friend,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Rush,  was  the  pastor.  At  the  following  Conference  he  was 
succeeded  by  Dr.  Edward  Wadsworth,  who  has  been  men- 
tioned. Dr.  Wadsworth  was  an  able  preacher  of  zeal  and 
power.  His  distinguishing  characteristic,  along  with  the  clear- 
ness of  his  sermons,  was  the  exceeding  particularity  about  his 
grammar.  In  the  exegesis  of  his  text  he  would  frequently  do 
some  parsing.  But  he  rarely  ever  failed  to  make  the  subject 
clear  and  convincing. 

MR.  WILLIAM  OTIS. 

The  most  prominent  and  influential  man  in  Franklin  Street 
Church  at  this  time  was  Mr.  William  Otis,  an  Englishman, 
who  had  come  to  this  country  a  poor  man,  had  engaged  in  the 
sawmill  business,  and  had  accumulated  a  considerable  amount 
of  property.  He  was  very  economical  in  his  personal  expend- 
itures and  very  liberal  in  all  Church  work  and  public  enter- 
prises for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  the  suffering.  He  had 
a  big  square  head,  a  broad  nose,  and  a  red  English  face— 
a  typical  John  Bull  in  dogged  persistence.  You  could  not 
coerce  him.  You  had  to  lead  him  if  you  moved  him  at  all. 
But  back  of  his  heavy-looking  physiognomy  there  was  as  big 
a  heart  as  ever  came  from  Old  England.  In  his  religious  no- 
tions he  was  a  genuine  Wesleyan.  Prayer  meetings,  class 
meetings,  love  feasts,  and  watch  nights  never  became  obso- 
lescent in  his  mind.  Camp  meetings  too  were  great  meetings 
with  him.  He  kept  a  large  two-story  cottage  on  the  Seashore 


266  REMINISCENCES. 

Camp  Ground,  at  which  he  entertained  liberally  all  visitors  who 
were  not  able  to  pay  board  at  the  public  tent.  He  also  believed 
in  kneeling  for  prayer,  which  he  always  had  before  breakfast. 
On  one  occasion  while  prayer  was  being  conducted  in  his  tent 
a  young  man  failed  to  kneel.  Mr.  Otis  went  to  him  and  laid 
his  hand  upon  his  shoulder,  saying:  "Kneel  down,  young  man. 
Any  one  who  eats  at  my  tent  must  kneel  for  prayer."  Mr. 
Otis  was  in  some  respects  like  Mr.  Alexander  Dallas,  who  has 
been  mentioned,  though  of  a  less  ardent  temperament. 

We  had  many  pleasant  friends  in  the  membership  of  our 
Church,  among  them  the  Michaels,  the  Simmses,  the  Austins, 
the  Hoppers,  the  Reids,  the  Porters,  and  the  Dicksons.  In 
St.  Francis  Street  also  we  had  many  warm  friends,  among 
whom  were  the  Bakers,  the  Dormans,  the  Banners,  the  Wil- 
liamses,  and  the  Hearins. 

FATHER  ABRAM  J.  RYAN. 

One  of  the  most  noted  men  in  Mobile  during  my  residence 
there  was  the  Catholic  priest,  Father  Abram  Joseph  Ryan.  He 
was  a  Southerner  to  the  core.  He  was  born  in  Norfolk,  Vir- 
ginia, April  15,  1839,  and  died  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in 
1886.  Soon  after  his  ordination  he  entered  the  Confederate 
army  as  chaplain  and  continued  in  this  service  till  the  close  of 
the  war. 

He  was  a  man  rather  below  medium  height,  of  florid  com- 
plexion, with  a  large  head  covered  with  light  auburn  hair 
which  hung  down  over  his  shoulders.  I  heard  him  in  the  pul- 
pit and  on  the  platform.  He  was  in  demand  on  nearly  all 
public  occasions.  He  was  an  easy,  graceful  speaker,  rather 
ornate  than  strong.  He  was  a  man  of  poetic  temperament  and 
wrote  a  number  of  poems  which  were  very  popular  in  the 
South  after  the  war,  more,  I  think,  on  account  of  the  intense 
Southern  feeling  they  expressed  than  for  their  intrinsic  literary 
merits.  While  we  accord  to  him  the  virtue  of  being  a  true 
patriot,  he  seemed  never  to  have  been  able  to  get  away  from 
the  sentiments  expressed  in  "The  Conquered  Banner"  and 
"The  Sword  of  Lee."  Perhaps  if  he  had  lived  longer  he  would 


REMINISCENCES.  267 

have  seen  what  General  Lee  saw  at  once,  that  it  was  not  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  perpetuate  bitter  regrets  over  the  "lost 
cause,"  however  natural  such  regrets  might  be. 

These  verses  from  his  poem,  "The  Quest  of  the  Soul,"  leave 
no  doubt  that  he  was  a  man  of  sincere  piety : 

"I  walked  in  the  world  with  the  worldly, 
I  craved  what  the  world  never  gave; 
And  I  said:  'In  the  world  each  ideal 

That  flits  like  a  barque  on  life's  wave 
Is  wrecked  on  the  shores  of  the  real 
And  sleeps  in  a  dreamless  grave.' 

So  I  toiled  on,  tired  of  the  human, 
And  I  moaned  'mid  the  mazes  of  men, 

Till  I  knelt,  long  ago,  at  the  altar, 
And  I  heard  a  voice  call  me.    Since  then 

I  walk  down  the  valley  of  silence 
That  lies  far  beyond  human  ken. 

Do  you  ask  what  I  found  in  the  valley? 

'Tis  my  trysting  place  with  the  divine, 
And  I  fell  at  the  feet  of  the  holy : 

Then  above  a  voice  said,  'Be  mine' ; 
And  there  arose  from  the  depths  of  my  spirit 

An  answer :  'My  heart  shall  be  thine.' " 

DR.  E.  P.  GAINES. 

Another  prominent  man  in  Mobile  at  this  time  was  Dr. 
Edmond  P.  Gaines,  whom  I  have  mentioned  in  an  earlier  chap- 
ter. He  had  been  my  father's  family  physician  twenty-eight 
years  before  and  was  during  my  residence  in  the  city  my  fam- 
ily physician.  He  had  been  exceedingly  attentive  to  my  moth- 
er and  was  now  just  as  kind  to  my  wife.  He  was  a  true  man, 
who  never  forgot  his  old  friends,  no  matter  what  station  they 
occupied.  Although  an  aristocrat  by  birth  and  family  con- 
nection, yet  everything  human  appealed  to  him.  Candid  al- 
most to  brusqueness,  he  would  tell  the  truth  about  any  matter 
that  involved  the  welfare  of  the  public.  He  would  say  that 
there  was  danger  when  he  saw  signs  of  approaching  epidemics. 
Some  of  the  other  doctors  who  were  inclined  to  hide  out  the 
danger  as  long  as  possible  called  him  "sensational."  He  had 


268  REMINISCENCES. 

had  yellow  fever  and  always  remained  in  the  city  during  epi- 
demics. He  was  a  brave  man  who  could  stand  in  the  midst 
of  the  "pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness"  with  as  much  nerve 
as  any  soldier  ever  exhibited  in  facing  death  on  the  bloody  field 
of  war. 

He  was  a  humane  man  who  gave  his  professional  services  to 
the  poor  and  helpless  as  readily  as  to  the  rich  and  influential. 
He  was  sometimes  impatient  and  irascible,  but  always  full  of 
sympathy  and  tender  regard  for  the  distressed. 

I  had  not  seen  him  since  he  left  Choctaw  County,  when  I 
was  a  country  lad  of  twelve  years.  When  he  learned  where  I 
came  from,  all  the  associations  of  "Old  Choctaw"  welled  up  in 
his  mind.  When  he  learned  that  I  had  just  lost  my  little  boy, 
his  warm  heart  was  sensibly  moved  as  he  tried  to  console  me, 
not  so  much  by  an  exhibition  of  Christian  faith  as  by  showing 
me  what  greater  sorrow  might  have  befallen  me  if  the  boy  had 
lived.  He  told  me  that  he  had  lost  a  darling  child  years  be- 
fore and  had  felt  rebellious  over  the  loss.  Then  he  added  with 
emphasis :  "I  have  become  entirely  reconciled,  for  worse  things 
can  come  to  us  than  the  death  of  our  children."  He  did  not 
explain ;  but  I  learned,  in  the  language  of  another  friend,  "Not 
our  dead  children,  but  the  living,  give  us  the  greatest  trouble." 

He  had  had  tuberculosis  in  his  earlier  years.  As  a  result 
he  had  lost  one  lung  entirely,  but  had  cured  the  disease  and 
lived  to  do  many  years  of  hard  work  as  a  practitioner  and  as 
a  lecturer  in  the  medical  college.  The  loss  of  one  lung  put 
double  duty  on  the  other  and  caused  it  to  become  abnormally 
large.  This  gave  him  a  one-sided  appearance.  With  all  of 
his  physical  one-sidedness  and  other  imperfections,  he  was  a 
noble  specimen  of  manhood  and  one  of  the  best  friends  I  had 
in  Mobile.  Several  of  the  best  friends  I  have  ever  had  have 
taught  me  the  force  of  these  two  sayings,  "Humanum  est  er- 
rare"  ("It  is  human  to  err"),  and,  "Humani  nihil  a  me  alien- 
urn"  ("Nothing  human  is  devoid  of  interest  to  me"). 

I  come  now  to  a  man  who,  though  afflicted  with  a  permanent 
physical  infirmity  like  St.  Paul,  was  as  free  from  imperfection 
of  character  as  any  man  I  have  ever  known. 


REMINISCENCES.  269 

DR.  JEFFERSON  HAMILTON. 

While  I  was  teaching  at  Mount  Sterling,  in  1865-66,  I  be- 
came acquainted  with  Dr.  Jefferson  Hamilton,  who  was  then 
stationed  in  one  of  the  Churches  in  Mobile.  Through  the  in- 
fluence of  a  mutual  friend  he  sent  me  a  pupil  over  whom  he 
exercised  some  kind  of  guardianship.  So  pleased  was  he  with 
the  outcome  of  this  student  that  he  sent  me  his  son  several 
years  later  and  became  my  friend  to  the  end  of  his  life.  He 
and  Dr.  J.  W.  Rush  had  more  to  do  with  my  making  the  only 
three  moves  I  have  ever  made  than  any  other  two  men.  They 
were  the  cause  of  my  being  elected  to  the  male  school  in  Sum- 
merfield  in  1866.  They  were  the  principal  movers  in  my  going 
to  Mobile  in  1874.  Dr.  Rush,  as  will  appear  on  a  later  page, 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  that  induced  me  to  go 
to  Tuskegee  in  1876.  I  had  something  more  than  dry  respect 
for  these  godly  men,  whose  lives  were  devoted  to  the  better- 
ment of  the  world. 

Dr.  Hamilton  was  another  man  who  had  a  good  inheritance. 
Silver  and  gold  he  had  none  beyond  a  bare  living,  but  in  men- 
tal and  spiritual  inheritance  he  was  rich.  He  was  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  that  State  which  has  been  said  to  have  done 
more  in  promoting  the  educational  and  literary  life  of  this 
country  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union.  He  was  born  at 
Brookfield,  Worcester  County,  the  birthplace  at  a  later  date  of 
Professor  George  Frederick  Mellen,  who  has  been  mentioned 
in  a  former  chapter.  Dr.  Hamilton  was  born  August  20,  1805, 
of  deeply  pious  parents,  who  were  Methodists  after  the  strict 
methodical  practices  that  gave  rise  to  the  name  of  the  denom- 
ination. He  grew  up  under  the  severe  regimen  and  rigorous 
conditions  of  a  New  England  farm  where  the  people  had  to 
struggle  hard  to  get  a  living  out  of  its  rocky  soil.  This  stren- 
uous outdoor  life  corresponded  well  with  the  strict  discipline 
of  the  followers  of  John  Wesley  in  the  early  part  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

His  father  was  one  of  those  New  England  Democrats  who 
have  exhibited  a  strength  of  conviction  and  a  tenacity  of  pur- 
pose unsurpassed  by  any  citizens  in  our  republic.  Though 


RI-MIXISCEXCES. 

the  surname  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  great  leader 
of  the  Federalist  party,  Mr.  Hamilton  followed  his  own  con- 
victions and  aligned  himself  with  the  school  of  the  author  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  founder  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  notwithstanding  the  Federalist  party  had  the  most 
powerful  leaders  in  Xew  Fngland  at  that  time.  As  a  mark  of 
his  jK'litical  convictions  he  named  his  son  Jefferson,  who  in- 
herited all  the  firmness  and  tenacity  of  his  father. 

His  mother  was  one  of  the  holiest  women  of  her  generation. 
Her  tender  hands  smoothed  the  pillow  of  the  invalid;  her 
cheerful  face  brought  sunshine  to  the  homes  of  sorrow;  her 
earnest  prayers  renewed  the  hopes  of  those  on  the  brink  of 
despair.  Her  son  was  her  companion  on  these  visits  of  mercy 
ns  well  as  at  the  house  of  God. 

When  he  was  converted  at  the  age  of  twenty,  he  at  once 
caught  the  inspiration  of  the  great  religious  movement  started 
by  John  \Yesley  in  England  and  continued  in  Xew  England  by 
Jesse  Lee,  of  Virginia.  Dr.  Hamilton  resembled  Mr.  \Yeslcy 
in  quality  of  metal  and  tenacity  of  purpose. 

He  did  not  do  what  so  many  young  men  have  done,  rush 
into  the  ministry  before  he  was  ready.  He  sought  the  best 
preparation  within  his  reach.  He  went  to  Wilbraham  Acade- 
my and  placed  himself  under  the  direction  of  that  most  saintly 
man,  Dr.  \Yilbur  Eisk,  for  whom  he  always  entertained  the 
greatest  reverence.  Dr.  Fisk  had  twice  declined  the  office  of 
bishop  that  he  might  the  more  fully  devote  his  time  to  preach- 
ing and  training  young  men  for  the  ministry.  Like  his  model, 
Dr.  Hamilton  gave  his  life  to  preaching  and  building  up  an 
intelligent  and  efficient  ministry. 

He  joined  the  Xew  England  Conference  in  1831,  serving 
different  appointments  till  his  second  year  in  Bromfield  Street 
Church,  Boston,  when  he  had  a  severe  attack  of  measles,  which 
left  him  with  an  asthmatic  trouble  which  continued  to  the  end 
of  his  life.  His  physician  advised  him  to  go  to  a  southern 
climate.  In  1837  he  came  to  Alabama,  where,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  two  years  in  New  Orleans,  he  continued  to  the  end 
of  his  life,  in  1874. 


REMINISCENCES.  271 

In  the  Alabama  Conference  he  was  the  leader  among  such 
men  as  Thomas  W.  Dorman,  A.  H.  Mitchell,  P.  P.  Neely,  E. 
Baldwin,  Thomas  O.  Summers,  O.  R.  Blue,  R.  K.  Hargrove, 
Allen  S.  Andrews,  Mark  S.  Andrews,  Edward  Wadsworth, 
and  W.  A.  McCarty.  One  of  his  confreres  said :  "He  did  more 
than  any  other  man  in  molding  the  character  of  the  preachers 
and  in  fixing  the  high  standard  of  faith  and  usefulness."  In 
the  words  of  Bishop  Fitzgerald:  "It  would  be  hard  to  pack 
more  nervous  energy,  common  sense,  keen  sensibility,  brain 
power,  and  spiritual  fervor  into  one  man's  make-up  than  was 
found  in  this  thin,  pale-faced  preacher,  who  was  vital  all  over 
and  through  and  through."  Most  men  with  such  will  power 
and  such  energies  are  inclined  to  be  harsh  and  dictatorial,  but 
not  so  with  Dr.  Hamilton.  He  was  one  of  the  most  lovable 
and  affable  men  I  have  ever  known.  His  bodily  infirmity  never 
beclouded  his  cheerfulness  or  ruffled  his  temper.  He  was  al- 
ways the  same  courteous  Christian  gentleman. 

Though  of  slight  physique,  never  weighing  more  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  he  was  a  man  of  commanding 
presence,  whose  noble  head  and  fine  features,  lighted  up  with 
brilliant  eyes,  elicited  respect  and  good  will.  With  perfect  self- 
command  and  graceful  movements,  he  was  admirable  in  per- 
forming public  ceremonies.  At  my  marriage  to  Miss  Fredonia 
A.  Taylor  he  was  the  officiating  minister.  As  we  stood  before 
him  without  book  in  hand  his  appropriate  ceremony  and  oppor- 
tune prayer  were  singularly  beautiful.  After  the  salutations, 
I  handed  him  a  twenty-dollar  bill.  Two  years  afterwards, 
when  he  was  attending  the  commencement  in  Summerfield,  I 
handed  him  another  twenty-dollar  bill,  remarking  as  I  did  so : 
"This  is  the  second  installment  on  my  marriage  fee."  With 
the  most  pleasant  expression  of  surprise  he  said :  "You  must 
think  I  did  you  a  good  job.  This  is  very  complimentary  to 
the  madam." 

Although  he  came  near  dying  three  times  with  yellow  fever, 
nothing  could  induce  him  to  leave  the  city  during  an  epidemic. 
Sometimes  he  was  the  only  pastor  left  to  visit  the  sick  and 


272  REMINISCENCES. 

bury  the  dead  of  all  classes.  He  would  have  no  pay  from 
other  Churches  for  his  services. 

He  believed  that  the  South  was  right  during  the  Civil  War. 
For  its  success  he  prayed.  Its  defeat  was  a  disappointment  to 
him,  but  he  did  not  stake  his  religious  faith  upon  the  result  of 
a  conflict  waged  with  carnal  weapons.  When  the  war  ended 
and  he  found  himself  on  the  losing  side,  "he  accepted  the  re- 
sult, free  from  the  sycophancy  of  the  post-bellum  renegade  on 
the  one  hand  or  stupid  factiousness  and  hopeless  desperation 
on  the  other."  His  faith  was  too  deep-rooted  and  steadfast 
to  be  overthrown  by  any  temporal  calamity.  While  he  was  a 
loyal  citizen  to  the  government  under  which  he  lived,  his  citi- 
zenship was  in  heaven.  He  did  a  great  work  during  the  trou- 
blous period  of  Reconstruction  by  calling  the  thoughts  of  the 
people  to  the  foundation  of  true  religion.  His  efforts,  along 
with  the  efforts  of  other  men  of  like  spirit,  were  the  cause  of 
the  wonderful  growth  of  the  Church  after  the  war. 

Dr.  Hamilton  died  at  Opelika  during  the  Conference  of 
1874,  three  months  after  I  went  to  Mobile.  He  was  the  prime 
mover  in  the  district  school  enterprise.  After  his  death  the 
committee  manifested  little  interest  in  the  matter.  No  suitable 
buildings  were  ever  erected,  and  the  enterprise  failed  of  real- 
ization. 

While  I  got  only  a  bare  living  out  of  the  school,  and  we  had 
a  hard  time  owing  to  my  wife's  poor  health  and  our  limited 
means,  I  have  never  regretted  going  to  Mobile.  My  two  years' 
residence  there  gave  me  a  wider  acquaintance  with  various 
classes  of  people  and  some  valuable  experience  in  the  strug- 
gles of  life.  One  valuable  lesson  was  to  collect  as  I  went  and 
to  pay  as  I  went.  The  panic  of  1873  and  the  stringency  of  the 
succeeding  years  had  burned  out  the  credit  system  for  the  time 
being. 

I  mention  here  what  my  noble-hearted  wife's  modesty  would 
suppress.  Two  small  sums  of  money,  one  from  an  uncle's 
estate  in  Scotland  and  one  from  her  father's  estate,  came  to 
her  during  our  hard  experience  in  Mobile.  She  generously 
spent  most  of  this  for  the  benefit  of  myself  and  of  my  children, 


REMINISCENCES.  273 

her  step-children.  A  part  of  it  went  to  put  a  tombstone  over 
the  grave  of  my  dear  Johnnie.  When  I  protested  against  her 
using  her  money  so  freely  for  my  benefit,  she  replied :  "What- 
ever is  mine  is  yours."  This  was  the  spirit  of  the  woman. 

While  I  was  not  satisfied  with  the  results  of  my  work  in 
Mobile,  I  had  some  evidence  that  my  efforts  were  appreciated. 
When  inquiry  was  made  among  some  of  my  leading  patrons 
whether  I  would  do  for  the  Alabama  Conference  Female  Col- 
lege, they  said :  "Yes ;  he  will  do  for  any  place."  This  was 
reported  to  me  by  Dr.  W.  A.  McCarty. 

I  had  in  my  school  in  Mobile  as  long  as  his  father  was  sta- 
tioned in  the  city  Charles  A.  Rush,  who  has  risen  to  promi- 
nence as  a  preacher  in  the  Alabama  Conference  and  who  is  now 
President  of  the  Southern  University.  His  wife,  Mrs.  Rosa- 
line Roebuck  Rush,  I  graduated  in  1884.  President  Rush  and 
wife  are  not  the  only  couple  of  fine  people  with  whose  educa- 
tion I  have  had  something  to  do. 

DAWN  OF  A  BRIGHTER  DAY  FOR  THE  SOUTH. 

I  am  not  writing  a  history  of  Alabama  or  of  the  period  of 
Reconstruction,  but  I  have  some  very  vivid  recollections  of  the 
years  from  1865  to  1877.  Brown  says  in  his  history  of  the 
State : 

Alabama  was  for  several  years  subject  to  the  worst  kind  of  government 
which  Americans  have  ever  had  to  submit  to;  and  many  citizens,  despair- 
ing of  any  decent  form  of  government,  began  to  leave  for  other  States  and 
for  foreign  countries.  Those  who  remained  were  forced  to  stand  helpless 
for  a  time,  while  strange  white  men  under  the  protection  of  the  military 
power  of  the  government  parceled  out  among  themselves  the  posts  of  honor. 

All  this  I  remember  most  vividly.  I  have  refrained  from 
recording  anything  that  will  perpetuate  bitterness,  but  I  would 
not  be  true  to  my  recollection  if  I  should  ignore  all  memory 
of  those  dark  days  drawn  out  into  dreary  years.  I  take  pleas- 
ure in  recording  the  recollections  of  the  years  1875,  1876,  and 
1877,  years  that  began  to  bring  hope  to  the  people  of  Alabama. 
The  orgies  of  misrule  had  lasted  as  long  as  humanity  could 
endure  them.  The  Southern  people  had  stood  the  ordeal  till 
18 


274  REMINISCENCES. 

patience  was  at  the  breaking  point.  The  Northern  people  were 
beginning  to  awake  to  some  sense  of  the  enormity  of  such  mis- 
rule, as  was  indicated  by  the  Democratic  majority  in  the  Pres- 
idential election  of  1876.  Though  President  Rutherford  B. 
Hayes  was  placed  in  the  Presidency  by  methods  which  are  now 
generally  considered  unlawful,  he  proved  to  be  a  friend  to  the 
South.  He  was  anxious  to  see  better  governments  in  the  re- 
constructed States.  He  withdrew  the  army  and  left  the  State 
governments  to  be  conducted  by  those  who  alone  had  intelli- 
gence and  patriotism  enough  to  rescue  society  from  disaster. 

The  three  most  striking  results  of  the  war  were  the  extinc- 
tion of  slavery,  the  settlement  of  the  question  of  secession,  and 
an  increased  power  in  the  general  government.  After  fifty 
years  of  observation  and  experience  as  a  Southern  man,  I  am 
convinced  that  all  these  results  have  been  best  for  the  South. 

From  my  boyhood  I  never  had  any  sympathy  with  slavery 
as  an  institution.  While  it  had  many  amiable  features,  I  do 
not  believe  that  it  was  built  on  a  foundation  of  righteousness 
that  can  stand  the  test  of  advancing  Christian  civilization. 

As  to  secession,  I  always  thought  that  we  had  the  right  to 
secede,  considering  the  clearly  expressed  conditions  under 
which  the  original  thirteen  States  went  into  the  Union;  but, 
as  I  stated  in  Chapters  XII.  and  XIIL,  I  doubted  the  wisdom 
of  secession  in  1861. 

As  to  the  necessity  for  a  strong  central  government,  I  am 
satisfied  that  we  need  a  stronger  national  government  than  we 
ever  could  have  made  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  With  the 
States  supreme,  they  would  have  been  in  danger  of  warring 
among  themselves  and  liable  to  fall  a  prey  to  some  foreign 
power,  the  fate  that  befell  the  ancient  Grecian  States.  Yet 
to  make  the  Central  government  so  strong  as  to  ignore  the 
local  State  governments  would  pave  the  way  to  monarchy. 
Let  the  States  exercise  all  their  original  powers  that  do  not 
contravene  the  general  good.  Let  the  National  government 
have  entire  control  of  everything  outside  of  the  local  interests 
of  the  States,  thus  securing  a  workable  plan  between  the  ex- 
tremes of  absolute  States'  rights  and  unlimited  centralization. 


REMINISCENCES.  275 

These  issues  being  settled,  we  are  determined  to  make  the 
most  of  the  Southern  States  as  integral  parts  of  the  United 
States  government  which  our  fathers  had  so  large  a  share  in 
forming.  In  the  language  of  Senator  B.  H.  Hill :  "Let  us  turn 
our  backs  upon  the  past;  and  let  it  be  said  in  the  future  that 
he  is  the  greatest  patriot,  the  truest  patriot,  the  noblest  patriot 
who  shall  do  the  most  to  repair  the  wrongs  of  the  past  and 
promote  the  glories  of  the  future." 

The  noble,  self-sacrificing  conduct  of  General  Lee  stands  out 
against  the  dark  background  of  the  past  like  the  rainbow  of 
promise  emblazoned  on  the  vanishing  storm  cloud.  During  the 
war,  when  animosities  were  inflamed  to  an  extreme  degree,  a 
plan  was  laid  before  Jefferson  Davis  to  assassinate  certain 
Northern  leaders.  He  promptly  repelled  the  suggestion,  say- 
ing: "The  laws  of  war  and  morality,  as  well  as  Christian  prin- 
ciples and  sound  policy,  forbid  the  use  of  such  means  of  punish- 
ing even  the  atrocities  of  the  enemy."  The  high-souled  senti- 
ment expressed  in  these  words  will  constitute  a  brighter  halo 
around  his  name  than  can  ever  be  formed  around  the  name  of 
any  man  whose  preeminence  is  gained  by  means  of  "blood 
and  iron" ;  and  his  last  self-effacing  words,  like  the  fabled 
song  of  the  dying  swan,  will  more  and  more  touch  the  heart 
of  humanity  as  passion  and  prejudice  melt  away  in  the  stream 
of  time. 

LAST  SPEECH  OF  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

Here,  as  reported,  is  the  last  speech  of  Jefferson  Davis, 
delivered  at  a  meeting  near  Beauvoir,  Mississippi,  in  1888: 

My  Friends:  The  faces  I  see  before  me  are  those  of  young  men — men 
in  whose  hands  the  destinies  of  our  Southland  lie.  For  love  of  her  I  break 
my  silence  to  speak  to  you  a  few  words  of  admonition.  The  past  is  dead. 
Let  it  bury  its  dead,  its  hopes  and  its  aspirations.  Before  you  lies  the 
future — a  future  of  golden  promises,  a  future  full  of  recompense  for  hon- 
orable endeavor,  a  future  of  expanding  glory  before  which  all  the  world 
shall  stand  amazed.  Let  me  beseech  you  to  lay  aside  rancor,  all  bitter 
sectional  feeling,  and  take  your  places  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  will  bring 
about  a  consummation  devoutly  to  be  wished. 

Mr.  Roosevelt,  just  before  he  retired  from  the  Presidency, 
had  the  courage  and  the  magnanimity  to  order  the  name  of 


276  REMINISCENCES. 

Jefferson  Davis  restored  on  Cabin  John  Bridge.  It  took  Eng- 
land two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  to  restore  the  name  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  in  Westminster  Abbey.  It  has  not  taken 
this  country  quite  fifty  years  to  restore  the  name  of  Jefferson 
Davis  on  Cabin  John  Bridge,  and  it  will  not  take  the  half  of 
two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  to  restore  it  to  its  proper 
place  in  history. 

In  the  eloquent  words  of  Bishop  Galloway:  "His  virtues 
will  grow  brighter  and  his  name  be  writ  larger  with  each  pass- 
ing century.  Nothing  need  cover  his  high  fame  but  heaven, 
no  pyramid  set  off  his  memories  but  the  eternal  substance  of 
his  greatness." 


JOHN    MASSEY 
AGE    42 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Move  to  Tuskegee — Lease  of  the  College  for  Five  Years — History  of  the 
College— Dr.  Andrew  A.  Lipscomb— Dr.  G.  W.  F.  Price— Dr.  Henry  D. 
Moore. 

ABOUT  January  i,  1876,  I  was  asked  to  take  the  presi- 
dency of  the  college  at  Tuskegee.  At  first  I  declined  to 
consider  the  question.  Later  in  the  year  I  was  induced  by  Dr. 
Wadsworth  and  Dr.  McCarty  to  investigate  the  merits  of  the 
place,  and  in  June  I  went  to  Tuskegee  by  special  invitation  to 
meet  the  Board  of  Trustees.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was 
that  I  accepted  the  proposition  of  the  Board  to  lease  the  college 
for  a  period  of  five  years  on  the  conditions  that  the  Board  was 
to  assume  no  responsibility  in  the  management,  either  finan- 
cial or  disciplinary,  and  that  I  was  to  be  responsible  for  the 
employment  of  teachers,  for  the  discipline  of  the  school,  for 
keeping  the  buildings  in  repair,  and  for  the  entire  current  ex- 
penses. If  the  school  should  not  pay  expenses,  the  loss  was  to 
be  mine.  If  there  should  be  anything  left  after  meeting  all 
expenses,  the  surplus  should  be  mine. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  with  whom  I  made  my  contract  em- 
braced the  following:  Gov.  R.  F.  Ligon,  President,  Dr.  W.  J. 
Gautier,  Secretary,  Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  all  of  Tuskegee;  Rev. 
W.  A.  McCarty,  D.D.,  Rev.  W.  M.  Motley,  Rev.  T.  J.  Rut- 
ledge,  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush,  D.D.,  all  members  of  the  Conference. 
These  were  all  true  men;  men  that  could  be  trusted  with  the 
most  sacred  things  of  life ;  honest  men  who  never  deceived  me. 
I  always  knew  where  they  stood  on  any  question  connected 
with  the  college.  I  remained  in  my  place  years  after  they  had 
gone  into  the  "country  from  whose  bourne  no  traveler  re- 
turns," but  I  always  felt  that  their  candid  spirits  were  behold- 
ing me  from  their  place  within  the  veil  and  making  me  stronger 
in  the  performance  of  duty.  It  is  an  honor  to  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  such  men. 

In  addition  to  these  deceased  trustees  whom  I  have  men- 

(277) 


278  REMIXISCEXCES. 

tionecl,  I  think  it  right  to  mention  two  others  who  came  into 
the  Board  later  and  who  have  joined  "the  innumerable  cara- 
van"— C.  M.  Howard  and  James  E.  Cobb. 

Dr.  Howard  was  for  a  number  of  years  Secretary  of  the 
Board.  He  was  a  man  who  never  deviated  from  the  right  as 
he  saw  it,  a  man  strong  in  his  attachments  and  capable  of 
genuine  friendships.  There  is  something  peculiarly  touching 
in  my  recollection  of  him.  A  few  hours  before  his  death  he 
sent  for  me  and  requested  me  to  write  his  will,  a  tribute  to 
our  friendship  worthy  of  mention  on  personal  grounds  as  well 
as  on  account  of  his  services  to  the  college.  He  was  a  true 
man  "without  fear  and  without  reproach." 

Judge  James  E.  Cobb  was  for  many  years  a  trustee.  As  one 
of  the  prominent  men  of  Alabama  he  deserves  special  mention 
in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  college.  He  was  born  in 
Thomaston,  Georgia,  on  October  5,  1835,  and  died  in  Las 
Vegas,  New  Mexico,  June  2,  1903. 

He  was  a  graduate  of  Emory  College  in  the  class  with  the 
famous  missionary  to  China,  Dr.  Young  J.  Allen.  After  his 
graduation  he  taugh$  school  at  Fort  Valley,  Georgia,  studied 
law  under  Hon.  T.  W.  Goode,  and  emigrated  to  Texas.  Upon 
the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Fifth 
Texas  Regiment,  served  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant,  then  to  first  lieutenant, 
gradually  rising  in  rank  till  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  when  he 
was  taken  prisoner  July  2,  1863,  and  kept  confined  in  different 
forts  till  after  the  close  of  the  war. 

Soon  after  the  surrender  he  settled  in  Tuskegee  and  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  till  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the  Fifth 
Judicial  Circuit.  He  held  this  position  twelve  years  and  made 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  judges  in  the  State.  He 
had  a  very  fine  legal  mind  that  comprehended  the  principles  of 
law  and  went  to  the  bottom  of  every  case  that  came  under  his 
jurisdiction.  Very  few  of  his  decisions  were  ever  reversed. 
He  was  nominated  for  Congress  in  the  Fifth  Congressional 
District  and  elected  five  times  in  succession.  As  an  able  judge 
and  an  incorruptible  statesman  he  was  honored  by  his  State 


REMINISCENCES.  279 

and  by  the  Nation;  but,  above  all  these  mere  accidents  of  life, 
he  was  a  man  of  sterling  character. 

Something  of  his  cast  of  spirit  was  reflected  in  the  mag- 
nanimous proffer  of  two  of  his  sisters,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Wood  and 
Mrs.  W.  S.  Jackson,  on  one  occasion  when  we  were  threatened 
with  an  epidemic  of  measles  in  the  college.  These  self-sacri- 
ficing women  came  forward  and  offered  to  take  the  sick  girls 
to  their  homes  and  nurse  them.  This  generous  offer  has  all 
the  more  appealed  to  my  grateful  admiration,  as  my  wife  was 
sick  and  not  able  to  undergo  the  strain  of  caring  for  the  sick 
girls.  It  is  a  fine  thing  to  have  such  temper  in  one's  blood  and 
such  tone  in  one's  spirit. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

I  consider  it  appropriate  to  give  a  brief  history  of  the  in- 
stitution up  to  the  time  I  undertook  its  administration  in  1876. 
The  facts  embraced  in  this  history  I  gathered  mainly  from  Dr. 
J.  W.  Rush,  Dr.  Mark  S.  Andrews,  Gov.  R.  F.  Ligon,  Dr.  W. 
J.  Gautier,  Dr.  J.  W.  Hunter,  Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  and  other 
citizens  of  Tuskegee. 

Tuskegee  was  early  in  its  history  noted  for  the  intelligence 
and  enterprise  of  its  citizens.  Their  public  spirit  had  begun 
to  be  manifested  in  the  forties  when  they  established  a  military 
school  for  boys,  \vhile  Mrs.  Caroline  Lee  Hentz  was  conduct- 
ing a  good  school  for  girls  in  the  town.  In  1848  the  Baptists 
established  a  college  for  girls,  which  was  very  flourishing  dur- 
ing the  next  fifteen  years. 

In  1853  Mrs.  Judge  Alexander  conceived  the  idea  of  found- 
ing another  college  for  girls.  This  was  taken  up  by  Rev.  C. 
C.  Gillespie,  the  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Church ;  but  the  rais- 
ing of  funds  for  the  enterprise  devolved  upon  Rev.  Mark  S. 
Andrews,  a  young  preacher  of  the  Alabama  Conference. 

Mr.  Andrews  canvassed  East  Alabama  in  its  behalf.  In 
the  year  1854  the  college  was  chartered  by  the  Legislature  of 
Alabama  under  the  name  of  Tuskegee  Female  College.  By 
the  terms  expressed  in  this  charter  the  title  to  the  property  and 
the  administration  of  the  college  were  vested  in  a  Board  of 


28o  REMINISCENCES. 

Trustees  named  in  the  charter  and  to  be  continued  by  their 
successors.  Ten  acres  of  land  were  purchased  from  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Hora  for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 

The  building  was  planned  by  an  architect  in  New  York. 
His  plan  was  an  illustration  of  the  infeasibility  of  architectural 
ideas  modeled  on  beauty  and  display  rather  than  on  practical 
use.  I  doubt  if  any  school  building  should  ever  be  erected 
without  the  approval  of  some  one  who  has  had  experience  in 
conducting  a  school  of  the  kind  contemplated.  The  plan  re- 
quired five  stories,  including  the  basement,  in  which  were  lo- 
cated the  dining  room  and  most  of  the  recitation  rooms.  The 
majority  of  the  dormitories  were  on  the  upper  floor.  This  ar- 
rangement required  too  much  climbing  of  steps  and  increased 
the  danger  from  fire,  especially  when  the  rooms  were  warmed 
by  wood  fires.  There  was  no  necessity  for  making  the  building 
so  high,  as  there  were  ample  grounds.  The  idea  was  that  a 
tall  building  would  make  a  greater  display. 

The  corner  stone  was  laid  on  February  n,  1855,  by  Hon. 
Henry  W.  Hilliard,  who  has  been  mentioned  in  connection 
with  Hilliard's  Legion.  The  building  was  completed  during 
the  year  following  at  a  cost  of  sixty  thousand  dollars;  and  on 
February  n,  1856,  the  college  was  organized  and  began  its 
work,  which  continued  for  fifty-three  years. 

DR.  A.  A.  LIPSCOMB. 

The  first  President  was  Rev.  Andrew  A.  Lipscomb,  D.D., 
LL.D.  He  was  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church, 
who  had  conducted  a  successful  girls'  school  in  Montgomery 
in  the  early  fifties.  He  was  a  man  of  exceedingly  fine  taste 
and  literary  culture  and  an  eloquent  preacher  of  fascinating 
style. 

I  learned  from  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush  that  he  had  extraordinary 
power  in  inspiring  his  pupils  with  the  love  of  the  beautiful. 
During  his  administration  there  was  set  on  foot  an  educational 
movement  of  unique  and  elevated  order  in  which  delicate  taste 
and  refined  criticism  found  a  higher  development  than  had 
hitherto  been  attempted  in  this  State. 


REMINISCENCES.  281 

The  Doctor  had  some  of  the  elements  of  a  great  teacher. 
He  ruled  altogether  by  moral  suasion,  which  is  a  fine  method 
so  long  as  it  effectively  persuades.  His  fine  sense  and  fasci- 
nating personality  made  this  method  of  discipline  effective. 

Dr.  Lipscomb's  reputation  had  gone  beyond  Alabama,  Col. 
W.  F.  Foster,  a  prominent  attorney  in  Tuskegee,  told  me  that 
Hon.  Robert  Toombs  and  Bishop  George  F.  Pierce  came 
to  Tuskegee  to  solicit  his  consent  to  go  to  the  University  of 
Georgia.  As  a  result  of  the  visit  of  these  distinguished  gentle- 
men he  retired  from  the  college  in  Tuskegee  in  1859  and  ac- 
cepted the  presidency  of  the  University  of  Georgia.  After 
serving  there  a  number  of  years,  he  was  induced  by  Bishop 
McTyeire  to  go  to  Vanderbilt  University  as  Professor  of  Eng- 
lish Literature,  which  position  he  filled  till  age  and  feebleness 
necessitated  his  retirement  from  active  work. 

Some  years  after  I  came  to  Tuskegee  I  invited  him  to  preach 
the  commencement  sermon.  In  a  very  affectionate  letter  he 
replied  expressing  his  interest  in  the  college  and  his  regrets  at 
not  being  able  to  perform  the  service.  He  was  a  man  of  lovely 
spirit. 

On  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Lipscomb  the  college  was  burdened 
with  debt.  For  immediate  relief  the  Board  borrowed  five  thou- 
sand dollars  from  the  Alabama  Conference  out  of  some  money 
known  as  the  Thompson  Fund.  This  Thompson  Fund  was  a 
donation  from  a  Mrs.  Thompson,  who  sometime  in  the  fifties 
had  left  by  will  to  the  Alabama  Conference  sixteen  thousand 
dollars,  the  interest  of  which  was  to  be  used  in  paying  the 
board  of  preachers'  daughters  in  the  colleges  owned  by  the 
Conference.  Centenary  College,  at  Summerfield,  got  seven 
thousand  dollars  of  this  money,  Tuscaloosa  Female  College 
four  thousand  dollars,  and  Tuskegee  Female  College  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  for  which  the  Conference  took  a  mortgage  on 
the  property. 

DR.  GEORGE  W.  F.  PRICE. 

Rev.  George  W.  F.  Price  was  chosen  as  the  successor  to 
Dr.  Lipscomb.  His  boyhood  had  been  spent  in  Tuskegee. 
Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  his  boyhood, 


28.'  REMINISCENCES. 

gave  me  some  account  of  his  fine,  genial  qualities  and  his 
fondness  for  outdoor  sports.  He  said  that  he  and  young  Price 
used  to  go  barefooted  along  the  branches  around  Tuskegee 
and  that  he  could  always  tell  George's  tracks  wherever  seen  by 
the  peculiar  shape  which  his  square-toed  foot  left  on  the  sand. 
George  was  destined  to  leave  a  more  durable  impress  on  his 
generation  than  he  had  left  on  the  sands  around  Tuskegee. 
His  influence  will  be  seen  in  the  lives  of  his  pupils  long  after 
all  physical  traces  of  him  have  vanished  from  the  earth. 

After  being  prepared  for  college  in  the  home  school  along 
with  W.  M.  Motley  and  J.  W.  Rush,  who  went  to  Emory 
College,  young  Price  went  to  the  University  of  Alabama  and 
paid  his  way  by  ringing  the  college  bell  which  called  the  stu- 
dents to  chapel  and  recitations. 

After  graduating  he  went  into  the  ministry  and  was  noted 
for  a  style  of  eloquence  characterized  by  a  most  refined  imag- 
ination and  delicate  taste.  He  had  to  locate  early  on  account 
of  a  bronchial  trouble  which  prevented  the  constant  use  of  his 
voice  in  public  speaking. 

He  was  one  of  the  teachers  in  the  college  under  Dr.  Lip- 
scomb  and  had  just  the  kind  of  bright,  receptive  mind  to  reap 
great  benefit  from  association  with  so  able  and  cultivated  a 
man.  This  association  gave  him  excellent  preparation  for  the 
presidency  of  the  college.  He  was  a  better  financier  than  his 
predecessor.  He  succeeded  in  reducing  the  debt  on  the  col- 
lege during  his  first  years;  but  on  account  of  the  embarrass- 
ment caused  by  the  war  the  Board  sold  the  property  in  1862 
to  Rev.  Jesse  Wood,  who  had  inherited  some  money  with 
which  it  was  hoped  that  he  could  relieve  the  critical  situation. 
After  one  year,  Mr.  Wood  sold  the  property  in  1863  to  Dr. 
C.  D.  Elliott,  who  had  been  successful  in  conducting  a  girls' 
school  in  Nashville,  Tennessee,  and  who  had  come  to  Alabama 
as  a  refugee.  As  he  was  an  experienced  man  in  conducting 
such  schools,  his  purchase  of  the  property  was  thought  to  be  a 
good  thing  for  all  parties;  but.  owing  to  the  stress  of  the  war 
and  lack  of  money  that  had  any  purchasing  power,  the  college 
was  not  a  success  under  his  administration. 


REMINISCENCES.  283 

I  saw  Dr.  Elliott  in  Tuscaloosa  in  the  summer  of  1864.  He 
was  on  a  lecture  tour  in  quest  of  funds,  or  rather  tax-in-kind, 
for  the  relief  of  disabled  Confederate  soldiers  and  their  fam- 
ilies. He  evidently  could  not  have  been  doing  much  with  the 
school,  as  it  was  not  engaging  his  attention.  Soon  after  the 
surrender  he  returned  to  Nashville.  He  left  the  college  in 
Tuskegee  with  most  of  the  old  debts  hanging  over  it.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  still  had  the  elephant  on  their  hands.  They 
put  Dr.  Price  back  into  the  presidency,  where  he  remained  till 
the  close  of  the  session  in  1872.  He  had  been  the  leading 
spirit  in  the  school  during  the  administrations  of  Mr.  Wood 
and  Dr.  Elliott. 

I  heard  him  make  a  speech  before  the  Alabama  Conference 
in  1871  in  which  he  tried  to  induce  the  Conference  to  make 
some  arrangement  for  the  relief  of  the  college.  This  was  to 
do  what  they  consented  to  do  the  next  year — namely,  to  buy 
the  property  and  run  it  as  a  Church  school — but  they  were  not 
yet  ready  to  take  it  on  their  hands. 

At  the  close  of  the  session  of  1872  Dr.  Price  went  to  Hunts- 
ville,  Alabama,  and  took  charge  of  a  girls'  school  in  that  town. 
While  he  was  at  Huntsville  I  invited  him  to  preach  the  com- 
mencement sermon  in  1878  as  a  compliment  to  one  of  my 
honored  predecessors.  When  it  was  announced  that  Dr.  Price 
would  preach  the  commencement  sermon,  Uncle  Isaac  Hill 
(as  he  was  called),  an  uncle  of  Ben  Hill,  of  Georgia,  noted  for 
his  blunt  jokes,  said  to  me :  "I  understand  that  you  have  done 
a  very  foolish  thing."  I  answered :  "What  foolish  thing  have  I 
done?"  "Why,"  said  he,  "I  understand  that  you  have  invited 
George  Price  to  preach  to  the  college."  "Why?"  said  I. 
Isn't  he  a  nice  man?"  "Yes,"  said  Uncle  Isaac,  wishing  to 
rub  me  hard,  "he  is  too  nice.  He  will  preach  such  a  nice  ser- 
mon that  he  will  take  all  your  girls  away  from  you."  "Well," 
I  replied,  "if  my  school  has  not  enough  merit  in  it  to  stand  a 
fine  sermon  from  Dr.  Price,  let  it  go  down."  Dr.  Price  came 
and  preached  a  most  elegant  sermon  from  the  text,  "The  en- 
trance of  thy  words  giveth  light,"  as  brilliant  as  the  text  could 


284  REMINISCENCES. 

suggest.  He  was  not  canvassing  for  pupils.  He  was  too 
noble  a  man  for  such  political  strategy. 

After  remaining  several  years  at  Huntsville,  he  went  to 
Nashville  and  established  the  Nashville  College  for  Young 
Ladies,  known  as  Price's  College,  which  had  a  prosperous  ca- 
reer for  a  number  of  years.  Dr.  Price  died  some  years  ago 
highly  respected  for  his  brilliant  talents  and  lovable  qualities. 

The  trustees  of  Tuskegee  Female  College  in  1872  were  now 
getting  tired  of  their  financial  responsibility.  They  were  being 
threatened  with  lawsuits  for  the  collection  of  debts  against  the 
college  property.  They  persuaded  the  Conference  to  do  what 
Dr.  Price  had  suggested  the  year  before,  to  foreclose  their 
mortgage  on  the  property,  settle  with  the  other  claimants,  and 
run  the  college  as  a  Church  school.  All  parties  agreed  to  this 
arrangement;  and  at  the  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1872-73 
the  charter  was  renewed,  the  name  of  the  college  was  changed 
from  Tuskegee  Female  College  to  Alabama  Conference  Female 
College,  and  a  Board  of  seven  trustees  was  named.  This  was 
the  Board  I  made  my  contract  with  in  1876.  The  Conference, 
through  this  new  Board,  settled  up  all  the  outstanding  debts 
to  the  amount  of  eight  thousand  dollars.  Their  mortgage  was 
five  thousand  dollars;  and  they  had  to  make  repairs  on  the 
building  to  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars,  making  the 
property  cost  them  up  to  1872-73  fourteen  thousand  dollars. 

DR.  HENRY  D.  MOORE. 

After  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Price  in  1872,  Rev.  Henry 
D.  Moore,  from  Georgia,  was  elected  President.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  The  Citadel,  a  military  school  in  Charleston,  South 
Carolina.  I  met  him  first  in  the  summer  of  1872  at  two  or 
three  District  Conferences  while  I  was  in  charge  of  the  male 
school  in  Summerfield.  He  was  a  man  of  pleasant  address, 
captivating  voice,  and  incisive  delivery,  that  made  him  a  very 
effective  speaker.  I  was  very  much  pleased  with  one  of  his 
sermons  from  Jeremiah  xii.  5  :  "If  thou  hast  run  with  the  foot- 
men, and  they  have  wearied  thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend 
with  horses?  and  if  in  the  land  of  peace,  wherein  thou  trust- 


REMINISCENCES.  285 

edst,  they  wearied  thee,  then  how  wilt  thou  do  in  the  swelling 
of  Jordan  ?" 

Mr.  Moore  took  the  college  at  a  very  unpropitious  time. 
The  financial  panic  came  in  1873.  His  patronage  was  below 
the  numbers  in  past  years,  and  his  collections  were  poor.  He 
was  further  embarrassed  by  the  sickness  and  death  of  his 
wife.  In  the  face  of  these  troubles,  with  no  reserve  capital  to 
meet  expenses  that  were  imperative,  his  success  was  an  impos- 
sibility. He  retired  from  the  college  at  the  Conference  in 
December,  1875,  somewhat  embarrassed  with  debt.  The  Con- 
ference sent  him  to  the  Marianna  District,  considered  at  that 
time  a  hard  appointment.  He  sustained  himself  well,  brought 
up  his  district  in  fine  style,  and,  be  it  said  to  his  credit,  in  a 
year  or  two  he  paid  off  all  he  owed.  I  learned  some  of  this 
inside  history  from  Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  who  was  his  friend 
through  all  his  troubles.  He  was  a  fine  pastor  and  filled  a 
number  of  the  best  appointments  in  the  Conference  till  his 
death,  which  occurred  during  his  pastorate  in  Opelika  some 
years  ago. 

Through  the  interregnum  between  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Moore  and  my  engagement  in  the  June  following  Rev.  Ev- 
erett Lee  Loveless,  preacher  in  charge  of  the  Tuskegee  Sta- 
tion, conducted  the  college,  not  because  he  desired  the  place, 
but  because  no  one  else  could  be  found  who  would  agree  to 
take  it  in  the  middle  of  the  year.  While  Mr.  Loveless  was  a 
fine  preacher,  the  most  eloquent  man  we  have  had  in  the  sta- 
tion since  my  connection  with  it,  he  was  not  adapted  to  school 
work.  His  tastes  were  averse  to  teaching.  Putting  Shake- 
speare's expression,  "I  would  rather  be  a  dog  and  bay  the 
moon,"  into  jocular  form,  he  said :  "I  would  rather  be  a  pack 
of  hounds  and  bay  the  solar  system  than  run  a  female  college." 

When  I  came,  everything  was  at  the  lowest  ebb.  The  coun- 
try had  not  rallied  from  the  panic  of  1873.  The  boarding 
department  had  run  down  to  two  girls.  There  were  several 
private  schools  in  the  town,  one  of  which  had  more  pupils  than 
the  college.  Except  Mr.  J.  C.  Smith,  not  even  the  Board  of 
Trustees  could  give  much  encouragement.  Governor  Ligon, 


286  REMINISCENCES. 

the  President,  and  Dr.  Gantier,  the  Secretary,  were  fine,  intel- 
ligent gentlemen  of  the  old  Southern  school.  They  had  been 
through  the  war  and  had  seen  its  crushing  effects.  They  had 
just  passed  through  the  depressing  period  of  Reconstruction. 
They  did  not  believe  that  the  country  ever  would  come  back 
to  its  normal  condition.  Mr.  Smith  was  more  hopeful.  He 
said  that  the  college  could  be  made  a  good  thing  if  the  right 
man  could  be  found  to  manage  it. 

In  thinking  over  the  proposition  made  me  by  the  Board  I 
saw  that  the  college  was  located  in  a  good  community,  that  it 
was  surrounded  by  a  good  country,  that  there  was  no  other 
school  of  the  kind  nearer  than  Georgia  and  West  Alabama, 
that  there  were  no  public  schools  outside  of  the  cities,  and  that 
Professor  J.  F.  Park  was  conducting  a  successful  boys'  school 
in  the  town.  I  did  not  believe  that  an  intelligent  people  could 
afford  to  continue  without  a  better  school  for  their  girls.  I 
believed  that  the  tide  would  turn  toward  a  better  state  of 
things,  that  any  improvement  in  the  condition  of  the  country 
would  be  in  favor  of  the  college,  and  that  I  could  take  advan- 
tage of  any  increase  in  the  patronage  to  carry  it  on  to  greater 
prosperity.  The  discouraging  features  of  the  undertaking 
called  out  my  best  efforts. 

The  week  after  I  had  closed  my  contract  with  the  trustees  I 
attended  the  commencement  in  Auburn.  I  there  met  the  genial 
Dr.  George  Price.  One  day  in  a  crowd  of  men  I  started  to 
address  him,  but  observed  that  he  was  in  close  conversation 
with  another  gentleman;  so  I  passed  by.  As  soon  as  he  was 
disengaged  he  came  to  me,  saying:  "The  gentleman  that  you 
saw  me  talking  with  is  Louis  T.  Wimberly,  of  Loachapoka. 
He  has  a  daughter  to  send  to  college,  but  I  don't  think  either 
of  us  will  get  her.  I  think  he  will  send  her  to  the  Wesleyan.  I 
offered  to  introduce  him  to  you  as  the  new  President  of  the 
college  in  Tuskegee ;  but  he  declined,  saying  that  he  would  not 
send  to  Tuskegee." 

I  went  to  work  at  once  to  solicit  patronage.  I  secured  two 
fine  girls  from  Auburn.  One  of  them  is  now  the  wife  of  Dr. 
O.  C.  McGehee,  of  the  Alabama  Conference.  I  went  to  Fort 


REMINISCENCES.  287 

Deposit;  and,  through  the  assistance  of  Rev.  Josiah  Barker 
and  Miss  Mary,  his  daughter,  whom  I  had  engaged  as  one  of 
my  teachers,  I  secured  two  or  three  girls  from  that  place.  I 
went  to  Greenville  and  succeeded  in  interesting  Mr.  W.  H. 
Flowers  and  Mr.  W.  M.  Teague  and  thus  secured  two  splendid 
girls  from  Greenville.  I  went  to  Prattville;  and,  through  the 
assistance  of  my  friends,  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush,  the  pastor,  and  Dr. 
S.  P.  Smith,  I  secured  six  girls  from  that  place.  So  far  as 
possible,  I  attended  all  the  District  Conferences  held  that  sum- 
mer. 

About  a  month  after  Mr.  Wimberly  had  declined  to  be  in- 
troduced to  me  I  attended  the  Conference  of  the  Montgomery 
District,  held  at  Auburn.  The  presiding  elder  introduced  me 
to  the  Conference  as  the  new  President  of  the  college  at  Tus- 
kegee  and  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  present  its  claims.  As  it 
had  gone  down  to  almost  nothing,  I  did  not  have  much  basis 
for  a  speech  except  the  general  subject  of  education.  I  made 
the  best  speech  I  could  on  education  and  wound  up  by  saying 
that  I  had  bound  myself  to  the  college  for  five  years,  that  I 
could  not  afford  to  be  bound  to  a  dead  body  for  five  years,  and 
that  I  was  obliged  to  breathe  life  into  it  and  make  it  a  vital 
factor  in  the  work  of  education.  As  soon  as  I  took  my  seat 
Mr.  Wimberly  came  forward  and  introduced  himself  to  me, 
saying  that  he  was  much  pleased  with  my  speech,  that  he  had 
a  daughter  to  send  to  college,  and  that  he  would  send  her  to 
me.  He  sent  his  daughter,  and  twenty-five  years  afterwards 
I  educated  two  of  her  daughters. 

During  one  of  my  canvassing  trips  I  met  a  young  preacher 
who  had  been  my  pupil  several  years  before.  He  said :  "I  am 
sorry  to  learn  that  you  are  going  to  change  from  the  boys  to 
the  girls.  I  think  you  are  making  a  mistake.  You  have  great 
influence  over  boys.  It  takes  a  man  to  manage  boys,  but  any- 
body can  manage  girls."  I  did  not  know  then  how  much  truth 
there  was  in  what  he  said,  but  during  the  next  thirty-three 
years  I  learned  that  girls  cannot  be  managed  by  "anybody." 
It  requires  as  much  to  hold  their  respect  and  loyalty  as  it  takes 
to  hold  the  respect  and  loyalty  of  boys;  and  without  command- 


288  REMINISCENCES. 

ing  their  respect  and  good  will,  one  can  do  nothing  with  them. 
When  I  wound  up  my  summer  campaign,  I  had  visited  twenty- 
one  cities  and  towns,  besides  many  private  families,  in  different 
parts  of  the  country. 

In  June  my  wife  had  gone  from  Mobile  to  Summerfield, 
where  she  spent  several  weeks.  She  came  over  to  Tuskegee  in 
August.  When  she  saw  the  amount  of  work  we  had  to  do 
before  we  could  open  school,  she  was  appalled  and  kept  say- 
ing :  "Mr.  Massey,  when  are  you  going  to  stop  traveling  and 
help  me  clean  up  this  place?"  I  told  her  that  a  clean  place 
would  not  be  worth  much  without  girls  to  fill  it.  I  was  com- 
pelled to  get  nearly  all  my  patronage  from  a  distance,  as  most 
of  the  girls  of  Tuskegee  were  in  private  schools. 

During  the  last  two  or  three  \veeks  of  the  vacation  we  came 
as  near  killing  ourselves  as  was  possible  by  work  in  getting 
ready  for  the  opening.  When  we  opened  about  the  2Oth  of 
September,  nearly  all  of  our  girls  from  a  distance  came  on  the 
first  train,  as  many  as  the  little  narrow-gauge  railroad  could 
carry,  making  the  largest  pile  of  trunks  that  had  come  to  the 
college  on  one  train  since  the  war.  This  fairly  took  the  breath 
of  the  townspeople.  So  far  as  I  had  taken  time  to  observe, 
they  had  treated  me  with  courtesy — they  were  to  refined  to  do 
otherwise — but  they  had  manifested  no  enthusiasm.  They  had 
taken  it  for  granted  that  the  college  was  dead.  When  I  walked 
up  the  street  on  the  afternoon  of  our  opening,  I  was  greeted  by 
smiles  of  approbation  and  hearty  congratulations  on  every  hand, 
in  striking  contrast  with  the  coolly  polite  salutations  I  had  been 
receiving.  The  Tuskegee  people  are  different  from  the  people 
of  any  other  community  I  have  ever  lived  in.  They  are  sui 
generis.  If  they  do  not  like  you,  they  will  let  you  alone.  If 
they  like  you,  they  are  very  hearty  in  their  manifestations. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

My  First  Year's  Experience  in  Teaching  Girls — Miss  Mary  A.  Barker — 
Miss  Mary  Alice  Caller — Dr.  Mark  S.  Andrews — Mr.  William  H.  Flow- 
ers— Miss  Ella  R.  Smilie — Miss  Mary  Belle  Dallas — College  Sunday 
School — Inquiries  Whether  I  Would  Accept  Other  Places — Colonel  D. 
S.  Troy's  Opinion — Fine  Music  Department. 

THIS  year  of  1876-77  was  to  be  my  first  experience  in 
teaching  girls  in  a  school  planned  strictly  for  girls.  I 
had  grown  up  in  a  family  of  boys.  I  had  gone  to  school  alto- 
gether with  boys,  except  in  Dr.  Allen's  school.  I  had  studied 
and  taught  in  the  P'ierce's  Springs  Academy,  composed  entirely 
of  boys.  I  had  gone  to  college  with  young  men.  No  male 
college  in  the  State  admitted  girls  at  that  time.  Ever  since 
the  surrender  I  had  taught  boys  and  young  men.  Now  I  was 
to  change  entirely  to  girls.  I  tried  to  find  out  by  letter  and 
through  Miss  Mary  Barker,  who  had  taught  with  Dr.  Price  in 
Tuskegee  and  also  with  Professor  Vaughn  in  Franklin,  Ten- 
nessee, how  these  Presidents  managed  their  schools.  They 
were  both  popular  and  successful  and  would,  I  thought,  be 
good  models.  But  in  planning  my  work,  and  especially  in 
carrying  it  on,  I  found  in  many  cases  that  I  could  not  go  by 
other  men's  rules.  I  had  to  use  all  the  sense  I  could  command 
and  was  even  then  at  a  loss  to  know  what  was  best  to  do  in 
some  instances.  I  found  that  my  wife,  who  was  only  twenty- 
four  years  old,  was  wonderfully  quick  in  seeing  the  way  out  of 
difficulties  and  in  suggesting  intelligent  plans.  I  was  fortu- 
nate in  having  a  number  of  intelligent  and  studious  young 
ladies  who  had  been  well  prepared  in  other  schools  to  form  a 
senior  class.  They  gave  tone  to  the  work  and  made  discipline 
more  easy. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  year  Dr.  McCarty  said  to  me :  "You 
have  been  teaching  in  boys'  schools  and  colleges  and  have  high 
ideals.  If  you  require  of  the  girls  what  you  have  been  re- 
quiring of  the  boys,  you  will  kill  them."  I  found  after  a  fair 
trial  that  I  could  require  as  much  work  of  the  girls  as  I  had 
19  (289) 


290  REMINISCENCES. 

ever  been  able  to  get  the  boys  to  do.  In  fact,  I  found  it  easier 
to  get  them  to  study.  They  were  more  readily  influenced 
through  personal  attachment  than  I  had  found  boys  to  be, 
and  in  matters  of  taste  and  facility  of  expression  they  were 
superior  to  boys  of  the  same  age  and  training.  In  practical 
application  of  mathematics  to  business  forms  I  found  them 
not  so  apt  as  boys.  I  attributed  this  to  two  things :  First,  they 
are  more  susceptible  to  the  influence  of  beauty  and  are  more 
interested  in  its  forms  of  expression;  and,  secondly,  they  do 
not  generally  grow  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  business,  as  bovs 
do.  In  a  word,  the  difference  in  the  ability  of  the  sexes  is  more 
a  difference  in  taste  than  in  natural  talent.  Neither  is  superior 
nor  inferior.  They  are  different.  They  are  counterparts  of 
each  other. 

I  had  an  impression  that  if  the  school  was  to  succeed  it 
must  take  on  a  new  growth  and  must  do  more  thorough  work 
than  had  generally  been  done  in  girls'  schools.  The  work 
I  had  seen  done  by  Professor  W.  J.  Vaughn  confirmed  me  in 
this  opinion, 

I  had  a  more  open  field  for  original  work  than  if  I  had  been 
going  into  a  flourishing  school  where  I  would  have  been  con- 
strained to  carry  on  the  work  that  was  already  in  successful 
operation.  It  is  true  that  I  was  hampered  by  limited  means. 
While  limited  means  are  not  usually  appreciated,  they  are 
sometimes  the  occasions  out  of  which  spring  our  best  efforts 
and  furnish  the  condition  for  the  best  results  for  the  reason 
that  our  personality  is  the  main  element  in  the  problem.  Be- 
ginning this  year  with  small  means  and  limited  numbers,  I 
had  a  chance  to  grow  up  with  the  work  as  it  grew. 

Miss  MARY  A.  BARKER. 

The  teacher  who  was  most  helpful  this  year  was  Miss  Mary 
A.  Barker,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Centenary  Institute  under 
that  unusually  gifted  teacher,  President  William  J.  Vaughn. 
She  was  frail  in  physique,  clear  in  mind,  and  as  firm  in  the 
pursuit  of  right  as  she  saw  it  as  was  Fabricins,  of  whom  Pyr- 
rhus  said :  "You  could  as  easily  turn  the  sun  from  his  course 


REMINISCENCES.  291 

as  you  could  turn  Fabricius  from  the  path  of  rectitude."  She 
was  also  as  much  imbued  with  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 
Christian  work  as  was  Thomas  Coke  or  David  Livingstone. 

One  of  the  things  she  did  was  to  organize  a  prayer  meeting 
among  the  boarding  students,  which  continued  to  be  held  reg- 
ularly every  Thursday  evening  for  thirty-three  years,  often 
embracing  every  girl  and  many  of  the  teachers  who  lived  in 
the  college.  Miss  Barker  retired  from  the  faculty  on  account 
of  declining  health  after  about  ten  years'  service,  but  her  spirit 
seemed  to  live  in  the  college  long  after  she  had  gone  to  her 
reward.  The  highest  tribute  I  can  pay  her  is  that  I  never  knew 
a  more  faithful  human  being. 

We  closed  the  year  in  the  last  week  of  June,  1877,  by  grad- 
uating eight  young  ladies.  In  April,  1913,  I  was  invited  to 
attend  a  meeting  of  the  Birmingham  Chapter  of  the  Alumnae 
of  the  Alabama  Conference  Female  College,  consisting  of 
about  forty  members.  This  meeting  was  held  in  the  elegant 
home  of  Mrs.  C.  C.  Snider,  who  was  Lutie  Harris  when  in 
college.  It  was  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  with  so  many  of  my 
former  pupils  and  to  be  kindly  entertained  by  Mrs.  Mary  H. 
Rush  Norris,  one  of  my  first  year's  graduates,  whom  I  found 
as  bright  and  cheery  as  she  was  in  the  days  of  her  girlhood 
thirty-seven  years  before. 

My  second  year  opened  with  some  increase  in  the  boarding 
department  and  a  considerable  advance  in  the  number  of  local 
pupils.  There  was  no  public  school  in  the  community  for  many 
years  after  this.  I  made  it  a  rule  to  collect  my  tuition  fees  in 
advance  from  all  who  were  able  to  pay,  but  I  never  excluded 
any  girl  from  the  college  if  her  family  showed  any  disposition 
to  pay  in  service  or  substance  that  we  could  use.  My  wife 
was  very  tactful  in  finding  out  those  who  were  not  really  able 
to  pay  in  money,  and  nothing  delighted  her  more  than  to  open 
the  way  for  a  worthy  girl's  education. 

Miss  MARY  ALICE  CALLER. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  second  year  there  came  into  our 
faculty  a  woman  who  was  prepared  to  exercise  great  influence 


292  REMINISCENCES. 

in  the  work  of  the  college.  She  had  taught  with  my  wife  in 
Centenary  Institute  and  had  recently  been  teaching  in  Marion 
Female  Seminary.  She  was  a  graduate  of  Centenary  Institute 
under  President  R.  K.  Hargrove  (afterwards  Bishop).  She 
was  full  of  plans  for  the  betterment  of  every  enterprise  she 
engaged  in.  She  was  a  student  of  good  literature,  especially 
of  the  Bible.  Like  Dr.  Lipscomb,  she  was  fond  of  Ruskin  and 
everything  that  embodied  good  taste.  She  loved  birds  and 
flowers  and  children.  She  was  the  best  teacher  of  children  I 
ever  saw. 

Several  years  after  coming  to  us  she  organized  the  Currer 
Bell  and  Ad  Astra  Literary  Societies,  which  have  been  perpet- 
uated in  the  Woman's  College  of  Alabama.  Hundreds  of 
women  who  were  once  students  in  the  old  Alabama  Conference 
Female  College  have  recalled  the  name  of  Mary  Alice  Caller 
before  they  have  finished  reading  this  paragraph.  For  twenty- 
nine  years  she  was  a  member  of  the  faculty  and  would  have 
remained  to  the  end  if  failing  health  had  not  forced  her  retire- 
ment. She  died  August  2,  1907,  mourned  by  thousands  who 
had  known  and  loved  her.  It  is  worth  while  to  live  such  an 
unselfish  life  as  she  lived. 

We  closed  what  was  pronounced  a  very  successful  year  in 
the  latter  part  of  June,  1878.  We  opened  our  third  year  with  a 
larger  boarding  department  and  with  practically  all  the  girls  in 
the  neighborhood.  I  did  a  considerable  part  of  the  teaching 
myself,  going  over  pretty  much  the  same  ground  year  after 
year.  This  would  have  become  very  monotonous  if  I  had  had 
only  the  subjects  taught  to  interest  me ;  but  when  I  had  a  new 
crop  of  pupils  every  year,  with  various  talents  and  tempera- 
ments to  be  studied,  I  found  that  I  had  a  field  that  required  the 
use  of  all  the  resources  I  could  command.  The  study  of  hu- 
man development  is  the  greatest  and  most  inspiring  of  all 
studies. 

On  March  19,  1879,  in  the  college,  my  daughter  Mabelle 
Massey  was  born.  She  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Josiah  Barker 
during  the  commencement  in  June,  1879. 

I  took  charge  of  her  at  night  when  she  was  only  two  years 


JOHN    MASSEY 

AGE    55 


REMINISCENCES.  293 

old.  She  was  ready  to  go  with  me  anywhere.  She  felt  per- 
fectly satisfied  in  my  care.  She  seemed  to  take  the  place  of 
my  dear  lost  Johnnie,  whose  devotion  to  me  was  singularly 
touching  during  the  most  sorrowful  period  of  my  life.  She 
has  always  been  a  loyal  child. 

After  graduating  at  home,  she  took  a  two-year  course  in 
Randolph-Macon  Woman's  College.  We  were  desirous  that 
she  should  accompany  her  sister  to  Europe,  but  she  would  not 
consent  to  go  when  she  knew  that  her  mother's  health  was  pre- 
carious. She  felt  that  her  services  might  be  needed  at  home. 
When  this  contingency  actually  occurred,  she  took  up  and  car- 
ried on  with  remarkable  success  the  work  of  the  home  depart- 
ment of  the  college  during  the  last  ten  years  of  my  administra- 
tion. May  she  have  the  reward  promised  to  the  dutiful :  "Hon- 
or thy  father  and  mother,  which  is  the  first  commandment  with 
promise,  that  it  may  be  well  with  thee" ! 

Soon  after  the  close  of  my  third  year  in  Tuskegee  the  fol- 
lowing letter  from  Dr.  W.  A.  Cochrane  came  to  me : 

TUSCALOOSA,  ALABAMA,  July  10,  1879. 

Professor  John  Massey,  A.M.,  LL.D. — Dear  Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  University  of  Alabama,  at 
their  late  session,  conferred  on  you  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
on  account  of  your  distinguished  merits  and  learning. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant,  W.  A.  COCHRANE, 

Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

I  appreciated  this  all  the  more  because  Professors  Wyman  and 
Vaughn,  who  had  been  my  teachers,  were  in  the  faculty,  which, 
as  I  afterwards  learned,  had  unanimously  recommended  this 
action  to  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

So  the  years  ran  on,  and  my  five-year  contract  soon  came  to 
an  end.  The  trustees  expressed  themselves  as  well  pleased  and 
offered  to  renew  the  contract  for  a  second  period  of  five  years 
on  the  same  terms. 

In  April,  1882,  my  daughter  Ethel  was  born,  a  beautiful 
child.  In  July,  1884,  she  died.  I  leave  her  with  my  other 
dead  in  the  hands  of  the  Father  of  Mercies,  feeling  that  all  is 
well. 


294  REMINISCENCES. 

\Yhilc  I  had  made  a  living,  I  had  been  obliged  to  spend  most 
of  the  income  of  the  school  on  current  expenses  and  better 
equipment  for  the  boarding  and  music  departments.  Some- 
years  passed  before  I  laid  away  any  money  that  inured  to  my 
own  benefit.  But  I  do  not  regret  that  I  spent  the  money  as  I 
did.  It  gave  me  a  firmer  hold  on  my  pupils  and  on  the  public 
than  if  I  had  tried  to  be  too  rigidly  economical.  There  is  such 
a  thing  as  "killing  the  hen  to  get  the  golden  egg." 

DR.  MARK  S.  ANDREWS. 

During  my  second  period  Rev.  T.  J.  Rutledge  died ;  and, 
at  my  suggestion,  Dr.  Mark  S.  Andrews  was  chosen  by  the 
Conference  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Trustees.  I 
had  no  better  friend  in  the  Board  to  the  day  of  his  death.  On 
the  day  of  my  twenty-first  commencement,  the  last  he  ever 
attended,  I  asked  him  to  make  the  opening  prayer  on  com- 
mencement day.  I  never  heard  a  better  prayer  on  any  public 
occasion.  It  was  his  last  visit  to  the  college.  lie  died  during 
the  next  spring.  I  have  always  been  glad  that  I  suggested  him 
as  a  suitable  man  for  a  place  on  the  Board.  This  honor  was 
due  him,  as  he  had  been  the  agent  who  had  raised  the  money 
for  the  foundation  of  the  college. 

Each  year  we  had  an  increase  in  the  boarding  department 
until  we  were  beginning  to  be  very  much  in  need  of  space  for 
dormitory  and  practice  rooms.  I  had  a  piano  placed  in  every 
nook  and  corner  and  in  some  cases  in  the  bedrooms.  It  seemed 
that  the  time  was  near  at  hand  when  we  would  be  compelled  to 
have  more  room.  The  Board  of  Trustees  had  no  money.  I 
had  little  and  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  spend  all  I  had  on  prop- 
erty that  did  not  Wong  to  me. 

About  this  time  I  had  offers  to  go  to  other  colleges.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  seemed  anxious  that  I  should  stay  in  Tus- 
kegce  and  urged  the  Conference  to  raise  some  money  for  the 
enlargement  of  the  music  and  boarding  departments.  At  the 
session  held  in  Union  Springs  in  December,  1886,  they  re- 
solved to  spend  on  the  college  four  thousand  dollars  out  of 
some  Mobile  County  bonds  which  the  Conference  owned.  I 


REMINISCENCES.  295 

succeeded  in  making  a  few  small  collections  to  supplement  this 
fund.  The  largest  was  a  carload  of  lumber  from  Mr.  W.  H. 
Flowers,  valued  at  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

MR.  WILLIAM  H.  FLOWERS. 

This  donation  was  only  one  illustration  of  his  liberal  spirit. 
While  I  was  attending  a  District  Conference  at  Boiling,  the 
home  of  Mr.  Flowers,  I  made  an  appeal  in  behalf  of  girls  in 
limited  circumstances.  As  we  walked  out  of  the  church  he 
said :  "I  approve  your  plan  of  helping  the  needy.  I  will  re- 
member you."  Years  passed.  Mr.  Flowers  went  to  his  re- 
ward. But  he  had  not  forgotten  his  promise.  He  left  in  his 
will  property  which  he  thought  would  be  worth  five  thousand 
dollars.  Through  some  insecurity  in  the  investment  of  the 
property,  out  of  which  he  directed  the  donation  to  be  made,  it 
yielded  only  one  thousand  dollars.  He  designated  John  J. 
Flowers,  W.  M.  Motley,  and  John  Massey  as  the  trustees  of 
this  fund,  directing  us  to  invest  it  and  use  the  income  in  assist- 
ing indigent  girls  in  their  education.  This  Board  of  Trust  is 
self-perpetuating.  Since  this  money  has  come  into  our  hands 
we  have  used  the  income  according  to  his  direction.  His  works 
are  thus  following  him. 

Without  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  education,  Mr.  Flowers 
was  a  man  of  fine  native  intelligence,  sound  judgment,  un- 
swerving integrity,  "diligent  in  business,  serving  the  Lord"  in 
soul  and  in  substance.  For  many  years  he  was  the  manager  of 
the  Milner,  Caldwell,  and  Flowers  Lumber  Company,  which  he 
conducted  with  marked  success.  When  he  grew  old  and,  as 
he  thought,  too  feeble  to  attend  to  the  business  efficiently,  he 
offered  his  resignation.  The  company  declined  to  accept  it. 
Dr.  Caldwell,  the  leading  member  of  the  firm,  said,  "I  would 
rather  have  Mr.  Flowers's  old  coat  hanging  up  in  the  mill  than 
to  have  any  other  man  superintendent,"  so  much  confidence 
had  all  the  mill  people,  both  stockholders  and  laborers,  in  the 
efficiency,  justice,  and  fairness  of  Mr.  Flowers. 

He  was  a  noble  patriarch.  He  reared  a  large  family  of 
excellent  people,  who  are  perpetuating  his  splendid  qualities. 


296  REMINISCENCES. 

I  had  the  honor  of  educating  his  youngest  daughter  and  eleven 
of  his  granddaughters,  a  worthy  company  of  elect  ladies. 

In  the  vacation  of  1887  we  built  what  was  known  as  the 
Music  Hall,  which  contained  the  main  study  hall,  the  Presi- 
dent's office,  and  enough  music  rooms  for  that  time.  This 
building  gave  us  much-needed  relief  in  our  work.  In  addition 
to  this  building,  I  cut  up  the  old  study  hall  into  dormitory 
rooms  and  painted  the  main  building  inside  and  out,  from  tow- 
er to  basement. 

As  I  was  nearing  the  completion  of  this  renovation  Dr.  W. 
C.  McCoy,  who  was  then  the  agent  of  the  Southern  University, 
paid  a  visit  to  his  daughter,  who  was  a  student  in  the  college. 
In  looking  over  what  I  had  done  he  remarked  in  his  deep, 
sonorous  voice :  "This  is  beautiful.  It  is  magnificent.  But  you 
are  only  cultivating  evanescent  flowers  in  teaching  these  girls. 
You  ought  to  be  in  the  Southern  University  cultivating  sturdy 
oaks  that  would  stand  through  the  decades."  That  was  a  very 
pretty  speech,  and  I  appreciated  his  complimentary  estimate  of 
my  ability;  but  his  opinion  was  different  from  that  of  the 
psalmist  who  prayed  "that  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown 
up  in  their  youth ;  that  our  daughters  may  be  as  corner  stones, 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace,"  plainly  indicating 
that  the  conservative,  enduring  forces  in  society  are  to  be  found 
in  woman's  influence  in  home  life.  I  have  often  thought  of 
the  Doctor's  remark,  but  have  never  regretted  that  I  changed 
my  sphere  of  work  from  the  business  of  educating  men  to  that 
of  educating  women. 

The  improvements  I  made  on  the  college  property  in  1887 
amounted  to  about  two  thousand  dollars  more  than  the  Con- 
ference gave  to  the  institution.  Most  of  this  I  paid  out  of  the 
proceeds  of  the  school.  With  the  purchase  and  improvement 
of  the  property  at  a  cost  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars  up  to 
1873  and  the  four  thousand  dollars  in  1886,  it  had  now  cost 
the  Conference  eighteen  thousand  dollars.  Within  the  next 
two  years  we  filled  all  our  available  space  and  opened  in  1889 
with  about  twenty-five  more  boarding  pupils  than  we  could 
accommodate. 


REMINISCENCES.  297 

It  so  happened  that  the  Hora  property,  consisting  of  a  large 
two-story  residence  and  fifteen  acres  of  land  adjoining  the 
college  lot,  was  on  the  market.  We  bought  it  at  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars,  which  Rev.  John  G.  Motley  raised  in  small 
sums  throughout  the  Conference  during  the  next  two  years. 
I  paid  out  of  the  proceeds  of  the  school  the  expenses  of  re- 
pairing the  building  and  of  fitting  up  the  premises.  This  Hora 
place  gave  us  room  for  about  thirty  more  boarding  pupils. 

On  a  former  page  mention  has  been  made  of  two  teachers 
who  contributed  to  the  early  success  of  the  school.  For  long- 
continued  service  and  work  done  outside  of  the  classrooms, 
several  others  deserve  special  mention. 

Miss  ELLA  R.  SMILIE. 

Miss  Smilie  came  to  the  college  in  1880,  when  she  was  only 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  remained  till  she  was  graduated  in 
the  classical  course  in  1886.  She  then  taught  awhile  in  coun- 
try schools  and  returned  to  the  college  as  assistant  teacher  and 
completed  the  Excelsior  Course  in  1893.  She  afterwards  took 
several  postgraduate  courses  elsewhere  and  grew  into  an  un- 
usually fine  character  full  of  energy,  good  cheer,  and  religious 
zeal.  During  the  years  she  taught  with  us  she  superintended 
the  Missionary  Society  and  was  the  leading  spirit  in  the  col- 
lege devotional  meetings.  In  1899  sne  was  married  to  Rev. 
Thomas  F.  Sessions,  a  member  of  one  of  the  Texas  Confer- 
ences. Wherever  Mrs.  Sessions  goes  she  is  the  inspiration  of 
the  community  in  every  good  work. 

Miss  MARY  BELLE  DALLAS. 

Miss  Dallas,  a  niece  of  Mrs.  Massey,  was  a  student  in  the 
college  from  the  beginning  of  our  first  year.  She  was  gradu- 
ated in  the  classical  course  in  1880  and  in  the  Excelsior  Course 
in  1884.  She  took  additional  courses  in  French  and  literature 
in  New  York.  She  became  one  of  the  best-read  teachers  in 
classic  literature  we  ever  had  in  the  faculty  and  is  one  of  the 
most  excellent  literary  critics  I  know.  She  was  a  member  of 


298  REMINISCENCES. 

the  faculty  for  twenty-eight  years  and  was  an  associate  of 
Miss  Caller  in  the  development  of  the  literary  societies. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Miss  Smilie,  in  1899,  Miss  Dallas 
took  charge  of  the  missionary  work.  Her  religious  influence 
over  the  girls  was  very  stimulating.  Besides  aiding  them  in 
their  devotional  meetings,  she  introduced  a  study  course  in  the 
Missionary  Society  and  inspired  so  much  interest  in  the  cause 
that  the  College  Society  became  the  banner  society  of  the 
Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  in  the  Alabama  Confer- 
ence. They  supported  a  Bible  woman  in  Soochow,  paid  a 
scholarship  in  the  Methodist  Training  School,  in  Nashville, 
and  made  a  contribution  of  more  than  a  hundred  dollars  a  year 
to  the  general  fund  of  the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Soci- 
ety. All  this  was  done  by  Miss  Dallas  in  addition  to  her  du- 
ties as  presiding  teacher  and  the  instruction  of  several  classes 
in  history  and  literature. 

On  account  of  long,  faithful,  and  efficient  service,  not  only 
in  the  matter  of  instruction,  but  also  in  the  social,  literary,  and 
moral  culture  of  the  girls,  should  be  mentioned  the  names  of 
Miss  Lizzie  A.  Hills,  Miss  Mary  P.  Newton,  Miss  Sarah  M. 
Birdsall,  and  Miss  Mary  M.  Smith.  These  teachers  have  not 
used  their  profession  as  a  stepping-stone  to  something  else,  as 
many  do,  but  have  gone  on  year  after  year  cultivating  their 
own  minds  and  seeking  better  preparation  for  their  work.  All 
honor  to  them  as  they  have  honored  the  profession ! 

During  the  last  eight  years  of  the  life  of  the  college  in  Tus- 
kegee  another  teacher  who  was  remarkably  faithful  and  effi- 
cient in  the  literary  and  religious  work  was  Miss  Adeline  M. 
Tirrell.  She  is  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  a  graduate  of  Bos- 
ton University,  a  woman  of  fine  scholarship  and  sound  reli- 
gious character,  whose  mind  and  heart  were  devoted  to  the 
welfare  and  happiness  of  the  students. 

In  the  last  decade  of  our  work  in  Tuskegee  a  Young  Wom- 
en's Christian  Association  was  organized  and  was  frequently 
visited  by  the  Secretaries  of  the  General  Association. 

With  all  these  aids  we  managed  to  keep  the  students  well 
occupied  and  entertained,  so  that  their  college  life  was  neither 


REMINISCENCES.  299 

monotonous  nor  devoid  of  interest  in  ennobling  pursuits.  I 
made  it  a  point  to  employ  teachers  who  would  feel  some  inter- 
est in  the  social  life  of  the  girls;  and,  as  far  as  we  could,  my 
wife  and  I  kept  ourselves  on  free  and  easy  terms  with  all  our 
students.  They  were  generally  cheerful  and  as  contented  as 
they  could  be  away  from  home.  On  one  occasion  a  gentleman 
was  spending  a  day  in  the  college  and  seemed  surprised  at  the 
cheerfulness  of  the  girls.  He  asked  me  how  I  managed  to 
keep  them  in  good  spirits.  I  answered:  "By  hard  work  and 
hard-tack."  This  was  a  jocular  way  of  putting  the  philosophy 
of  keeping  a  houseful  of  girls  contented.  To  put  it  in  more 
exact  words :  "Keep  them  busy  and  feed  them  well."  They 
will  not  all  be  contented  on  this  plan,  but  most  of  them  will  be 
reasonably  well  contented  most  of  the  time.  I  might  add  an- 
other item  to  this :  Treat  them  kindly,  but  never  yield  to  their 
unreasonable  requests.  To  hold  the  respect  of  pupils,  teachers 
must  stand  for  the  right. 

I  may  here  mention  a  statement  made  by  Miss  Sarah  M. 
Birdsall,  who  taught  in  the  college  eight  years.  The  state- 
ment is  remarkable  when  it  is  known  that  Miss  Birdsall  is  a 
native  of  New  York,  a  lady  of  great  intelligence,  wide  experi- 
ence, and  real  candor.  She  had  studied  and  traveled  in  Eu- 
rope and  taught  in  various  schools  of  note  both  North  and 
South.  She  said  frequently  while  she  was  with  us  and  also 
after  she  left  us  that  she  had  never  seen  a  school  so  homelike. 

COLLEGE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

When  I  entered  upon  the  administration  of  the  college  in 
1876,  I  organized  the  students  of  the  boarding  department  into 
classes  for  Sunday  school  work.  For  eleven  years  I  united 
these  classes  with  the  Sunday  school  at  the  church.  As  the 
boarding  department  gradually  increased,  the  college  classes 
occupied  the  greater  part  of  the  auditorium  of  the  church  and 
crowded  out  the  local  Sunday  school. 

When  the  new  study  hall  was  completed,  in  1887,  it  gave 
a  commodious  and  comfortable  place  for  the  assembly  of  the 
college  classes.  Thereafter  we  conducted  the  work  in  the 


3oo  REMINISCENCES. 

study  hall.  This  left  in  the  church  ample  room  for  the  local 
Sunday  school,  obviated  the  necessity  of  exposing  the  girls  to 
inclement  weather,  and  gave  much  more  time  for  the  recita- 
tions. 

In  order  to  give  a  just  and  more  adequate  idea  of  the  work 
done,  some  statement  should  be  made  in  regard  to  this  fea- 
ture. In  the  selection  of  the  teachers  for  the  general  work  I 
had  an  eye  not  only  to  ability  in  their  particular  departments, 
but  also  to  soundness  of  moral  and  religious  character.  I 
preferred  and  generally  secured  teachers  who  felt  an  interest  in 
Sunday  school  work.  Thus  in  using  my  best  judgment  in  the 
employment  of  teachers,  in  the  organization  of  the  classes,  and 
in  the  oversight  of  the  work,  we  succeeded  in  making  what 
was  pronounced  by  all  who  were  acquainted  with  it  a  remark- 
ably efficient  Sunday  school.  In  it  was  done  as  thorough  work 
as  was  done  in  any  other  department  of  the  institution.  It  was 
surprising  and  gratifying  to  find  how  well  these  students,  who 
were  in  the  habit  of  using  their  minds,  could  answer  questions 
which  no  one  could  anticipate  and  how  much  a  company  of 
young  people  under  favorable  conditions  can  be  inspired  with 
absorbing  interest  in  the  study  of  the  Bible.  In  addition  to 
this  work  done  in  the  Sunday  school,  we  had  regular  courses 
in  Bible  study  as  part  of  our  curriculum. 

INQUIRIES  WHETHER  I  WOULD  ACCEPT  THE  PRESIDENCY  OF 
OTHER  SCHOOLS. 

As  the  success  of  the  school  became  assured,  various  in- 
quiries were  made  from  time  to  time  whether  I  would  accept 
the  presidency  of  other  schools. 

I  have  a  letter  from  Dr.  J.  E.  Evans,  trustee  of  the  Wes- 
leyan  Female  College,  Macon,  Georgia,  dated  July  10,  1883, 
inquiring  whether  I  could  be  had  for  the  presidency  of  the 
Wesleyan,  if  elected.  The  same  inquiry  was  made  nearly  twen- 
ty years  later. 

From  Judge  H.  D.  Clayton,  then  a  trustee  of  the  Agricul- 
tural and  Mechanical  College,  at  Auburn,  I  received  a  com- 


REMINISCENCES.  301 

munication  April  2,  1884,  in  which  he  inquired  whether  I 
would  accept  the  presidency  of  the  college,  if  elected. 

Colonel  A.  C.  Hargrove,  of  Tuscaloosa,  wrote  me  May  28, 
1890,  asking  if  I  would  accept  the  presidency  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Alabama,  if  elected.  The  same  inquiry  was  made  by 
some  of  the  trustees  on  two  other  occasions. 

A  letter  from  Dr.  J.  M.  Mason,  trustee  of  the  Southern 
University,  dated  January  21,  1899,  inquired  whether  I  would 
accept  the  presidency  of  the  Southern  University,  if  elected. 
The  same  question  was  asked  by  other  trustees. 

In  June,  1899,  I  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  Girls' 
Industrial  School,  at  Montevallo,  notwithstanding  that  I  had 
notified  two  members  of  the  board  that  I  did  not  see  how  I 
could  accept  under  the  circumstances. 

Some  of  my  friends  thought  that  I  acted  unwisely  in  not 
consenting  to  leave  Tuskegee,  as  all  these  places  were  more 
prominent  than  the  one  I  held;  but  I  have  no  regrets  for  hav- 
ing acted  as  I  did.  I  had  as  many  pupils  as  I  could  accommo- 
date, pupils  from  the  best  people  of  the  whole  country.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  put  no  restrictions  upon  me.  I  had  the 
most  free  and  independent  position  in  the  State.  I  did  not 
believe  that  I  could  do  any  better  in  the  way  of  public  service 
than  by  contributing  to  the  important  work  of  making  good 
women;  and  now,  in  looking  over  the  past,  I  do  not  believe 
that  I  would  have  done  better  in  any  one  of  these  places,  if  I 
had  been  elected. 

COLONEL  D.  S.  TROY'S  OPINION. 

In  a  conversation  with  Colonel  D.  S.  Troy  sometime  before 
his  death  he  said:  "Adjutant,  I  believe  it  was  a  good  thing 
that  you  did  not  go  into  law,  as  you  once  thought  of  doing. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  you  would  have  made  more  money  in 
the  practice  of  law,  but  you  have  made  enough  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  your  door.  If  you  had  gone  into  law,  you  would 
have  had  to  deal  with  the  most  unfavorable  classes  of  people 
to  exercise  any  good  influence  over.  In  your  present  position 
you  have  had  the  purest  and  most  impressible  part  of  human 


302  REMINISCENCES. 

nature  to  cultivate.  You  have  had  girls  from  the  best  people 
of  this  country  as  the  medium  through  which  you  are  project- 
ing your  influence  upon  the  world.  You  are  to  be  congratulat- 
ed upon  your  work."  So  spoke  a  candid  friend  whom  I  had 
known  under  the  most  trying  circumstances  and  whose  house 
was  always  open  to  me.  Though  we  differed  widely  in  many 
things,  we  were  warm  friends  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

FINE  Music  DEPARTMENT. 

It  was  said  by  a  good  many  intelligent  people  that  we  had 
one  of  the  finest  music  schools  south  of  Cincinnati.  On  it  I 
spent  money  freely  in  order  to  have  the  best.  Through  Pro- 
fessor Theodore  Bohlmann,  who  had  taught  Miss  Eva  Slatori, 
one  of  the  most  successful  music  teachers  I  ever  had,  I  got  in 
communication  with  Professor  Karl  Klindworth,  of  Berlin, 
who  was  very  obliging  and  very  trustworthy  in  recommending 
teachers.  Through  him  I  employed  several  fine  musicians, 
who  are  now  occupying  prominent  places  in  this  country. 

In  maintaining  a  first-class  music  department  I  found  that  I 
had  to  counteract  some  tendencies  that  were  hurtful  to  the 
work  of  the  broadest  and  best  education.  Fine  music  attracts 
attention  and  excites  a  desire  to  study  it  for  display.  I  found 
that  the  majority  of  the  girls  imagined  they  wanted  to  study 
music.  If  they  did  not,  their  mothers  generally  wished  it. 
I  found  that  too  many  proposed  to  drop  everything  else  and 
devote  all  their  time  to  music.  So  general  did  this  fashion 
become  that  I  had  to  decline  to  take  such  students  unless  they 
would  agree  to  carry  a  reasonable  amount  of  work  in  the  reg- 
ular literary  course.  Adherence  to  this  decision  sometimes 
caused  me  to  lose  patronage.  Not  unfrequently  pupils  wanted 
to  study  music  who  had  no  talent  for  it  and  who  ought  not  to 
have  wasted  time  and  money  on  it.  After  a  fair  trial  in  such 
cases,  my  plan  was  to  try  to  direct  them  to  something  else  that 
they  could  do  successfully.  In  this  effort  I  sometimes  suc- 
ceeded ;  sometimes  I  lost  scholars.  I  found  that  the  best  musi- 
cians I  ever  turned  out  were  students  who  carried  a  full  liter- 
ary course,  often  including  the  languages.  This  convinced  me 


REMINISCENCES.  303 

that  aesthetic  culture  reaches  its  highest  degree  in  connection 
with  general  culture. 

As  I  am  now  out  of  the  business  and  cannot  be  suspected  of 
a  selfish  motive  in  making  the  statement,  I  will  say  that  I  be- 
lieve the  A-grade  women's  colleges  should  provide  for  the  best 
musical  instruction,  have  a  high  grade  of  work  done,  and  give 
it  full  value  in  the  requirements  of  graduation  instead  of  dis- 
couraging work  in  this  department.  Music  properly  studied 
has  as  great  educational  value  as  some  other  subjects  in  the 
curriculum. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Conditions  That  Favored  My  Work — Loyalty  and  Cooperation  of  My 
Teachers — Professors  of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Institute — Major  W. 
W.  Screws — Chautauqua,  New  York — Changed  Conditions — Woman's 
College  of  Alabama — Booker  Washington — Trials  and  Their  Issue — On 
Entering  My  Eighty-Second  Year — Our  Home. 

T  FOUND  a  belief  prevalent  in  the  public  mind  which  was 
•*-  expressed  by  a  young  man  who  said  that  he  would  like  to 
be  the  president  of  a  girls'  college.  When  asked  why,  he  said : 
"It  is  a  gold  mine."  Some  men  may  have  made  more  out  of 
such  schools  than  was  good  for  the  pupils  or  promotive  of  the 
cause  of  education ;  but  the  truth  is,  not  every  man  that  tried 
it  found  a  "gold  mine"  in  this  field.  I  can  count  on  the  fingers 
of  one  hand  all  the  teachers  I  have  ever  known  who  made  more 
than  a  decent  living  out  of  girls'  schools,  or  any  other  sort  of 
schools  for  that  matter. 

It  is  true  that  I  made  a  little  more  than  a  living  in  the 
thirty-three  years  I  was  in  charge  of  the  college,  but  I  take  no 
credit  to  myself  for  good  financiering.  My  success  was  due 
to  a  combination  of  good  providences  and  propitious  circum- 
stances. I  had  the  place  a  long  time,  longer,  I  believe,  than 
any  other  man  ever  held  the  same  position  in  this  State 
except  Dr.  William  S.  Wyman.  The  adage  of  the  "rolling 
stone,"  which  applies  to  so  many  teachers,  did  not  apply  to 
me.  Most  of  the  time  I  was  able  to  do  some  of  the  heavy 
work  myself.  I  had  the  greatest  possible  assistance  in  the 
good  judgment,  indomitable  energy,  and  economical  manage- 
ment of  my  wife.  Without  her  assistance  I  never  could  have 
accomplished  what  I  did.  I  passed  through  a  period  of  more 
than  twenty  years  of  the  lowest  cost  of  living  I  have  ever 
known.  I  had  a  good  patronage  from  a  class  of  people  who 
were  nearly  always  prompt  in  paying  their  bills.  While  I  was 
in  great  danger  of  fire,  I  never  had  a  destructive  fire.  Though 
we  had  nearly  every  kind  of  epidemic  that  passed  through  the 
country,  we  were  never  seriously  interrupted  on  that  account, 
(304) 


REMINISCENCES.  305 

except  once  for  two  weeks  on  account  of  smallpox,  when  I  sent 
the  girls  home  as  a  precautionary  measure.  This  was  on  the 
9th  day  of  March,  when  one-third  of  the  school  year  remained 
to  be  completed.  What  the  outcome  might  be,  I  did  not  know. 
If  there  should  be  any  further  development  of  the  disease,  I 
knew  that  we  would  have  to  close  the  college  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  year.  Two  questions  came  up  for  my  answers: 
(i)  Shall  I  refund  the  money  to  my  patrons  for  the  unexpired 
term?  Of  this  I  had  no  doubt.  (2)  Shall  I  pay  my  teachers 
their  salaries  for  the  entire  year?  This  was  not  so  easy  to 
decide.  They  were  subject  to  calamity  like  myself  and  with 
some  reason  might  be  required  to  share  the  loss  with  me,  but 
they  could  not  get  work  elsewhere  for  the  remainder  of  the 
year  and  needed  their  salaries.  I  endeavored  to  decide  the 
questions  according  to  the  Golden  Rule.  I  resolved  to  pay 
them  their  full  salaries  for  the  year.  I  had  the  consciousness 
of  having  obtained  my  consent  to  hold  moral  obligation  above 
financial  considerations. 

After  thoroughly  disinfecting  the  buildings  and  having  no 
further  development  of  smallpox,  at  the  end  of  two  weeks  I 
recalled  the  girls.  They  all  returned  except  seven.  No  one 
believed  that  they  would  return ;  and  they  would  not  have  done 
so  unless  they  and  their  parents  had  believed  my  statements. 
This  they  would  not  have  done  unless  I  had  been  willing  to  act 
in  a  way  that  God  could  approve  by  his  help. 

In  addition  to  these  favorable  circumstances,  I  had  the  sup- 
port of  the  Conference,  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
the  friendly  influence  of  the  citizens  of  Tuskegee,  and  the 
loyalty  of  my  old  pupils  and  patrons  generally.  I  deem  it  just 
and  proper  to  make  this  public  acknowledgment  of  God's  good 
providence  over  me  and  my  work  during  my  connection  with 
the  college. 

TEACHERS. 

A  number  of  excellent  men  and  women  had  served  in  the 

faculty  before  my  administration  began.     As  I  have  given  a 

brief  history  of  the  school,  I  include  their  names  in  the  list 

below,  as  far  as  known.     From  the  beginning  of  my  adminis- 

20 


3o6  REMINISCENCES. 

tration  I  sought  the  best-equipped  talent  to  be  found  anywhere. 
Some  of  my  assistants  came  from  such  institutions  as  the  fol- 
lowing: Southern  University,  Emory  College,  Wellesley  Col- 
lege, Boston  University,  Vanderbilt  University,  Johns  Hop- 
kins University,  University  of  Berlin,  University  of  Chicago, 
Goucher  College,  and  Randolph-Macon  College.  I  was  for- 
tunate in  having,  almost  without  exception,  the  loyal  coopera- 
tion of  my  teachers.  It  may  be  interesting  to  preserve  the 
names  of  these  excellent  people  who  helped  to  make  the  college 
a  success : 

Rev.  M.  S.  Andrews,  D.D.,  Rev.  J.  W.  Rush,  D.D.,  Pro- 
fessor E.  R.  Dickson,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  Professor  John  Darby, 
A.M.,  Professor  W.  H.  C.  Price,  A.M.,  Professor  Anderson, 
Professor  Funk,  Professor  Corbin,  Colonel  John  A.  Jones, 
A.M.,  Miss  Julia  Spear,  Miss  Susan  B.  Lipscomb,  Mrs.  H.  D. 
Moore,  Miss  Mollie  St.  Clair,  Mrs.  E.  H.  Stuart,  Miss  Kate 
Edmonds,  Miss  Clara  Stafford,  Mrs.  E.  F.  Massey,  Miss  Mary 
A.  Barker,  Miss  Emma  Watkins,  Miss  Mary  H.  Rush,  Miss 
Anna  Vasser,  Miss  Mary  Alice  Caller,  Miss  Mattie  B.  Porter, 
Professor  Erwin  Schneider,  Miss  Nita  Smith,  Professor  C.  L. 
Doll,  Mrs.  C.  L.  Doll,  Miss  Leila  Griggs,  Professor  L.  F. 
Whitaker,  Miss  Mary  Belle  Dallas,  Professor  J.  B.  Grass,  Miss 
Annie  G.  Carson,  Miss  Lizzie  A.  Hills,  Miss  Minnie  Gardner, 
Miss  Mary  P.  Newton,  Miss  Nettie  Florence  Griggs,  Miss  Ella 
R.  Smilie,  Miss  Eva  Slaton,  Miss  Lelia  L.  Wheeler,  Miss  Gussie 
Brewer,  Miss  Sarah  M.  Birdsall,  Professor  Edwin  L.  Gard- 
iner, Miss  Mary  M.  Smith,  Professor  Kurt  Mueller,  Mrs. 
Clara  Mueller,  Miss  Gertrude  Graham,  Miss  Grace  Lee  Brown, 
Miss  Penelope  McDuffie,  A.B.,  of  Vanderbilt,  Miss  Florence 
E.  Loup,  A.B.,  of  Wellesley,  Professor  R.  E.  Brooks,  A.B.,  of 
Emory,  Miss  Adeline  M.  Tirrell,  A.B.,  of  Boston  University, 
Mr.  L.  V.  Massey,  A.B.,  of  Southern  University,  Miss  Theo- 
dora Morgan,  Miss  Minna  Grote,  A.B.,  of  Southern  Univer- 
sity, Miss  Emily  Robinson,  Miss  Estelle  R.  Delano,  Professor 
Grantland  Murray,  A.B.,  of  Emory  and  Johns  Hopkins,  Miss 
Louise  P.  Bang,  A.B.,  of  Vanderbilt,  Miss  Roberta  Du  Bose, 
A.B.,  of  Vanderbilt,  Miss  Esther  Crawford,  Miss  B.  McAr- 


REMINISCENCES.  307 

thur,  Miss  Reba  Stuart,  A.B.,  of  Randolph-Macon,  Miss  Mar- 
tha McAdory,  A.B.,  of  Randolph-Macon,  Professor  Johannes 
Magendenz,  University  of  Berlin,  Miss  Nelson  Hackett,  Miss 
Stella  Chapman,  Professor  Leon  Sampaix,  Miss  Mabelle  Mas- 
sey,  Miss  S.  C.  Mayes,  A.B.,  of  Randolph-Macon,  Miss  Jane 
Gibbs,  Miss  Olive  Dhu  Owen,  Miss  Isabel  Wooldridge,  A.B., 
of  Goucher  College,  Miss  Mary  Ebaugh,  A.B.,  of  Goucher 
College,  and  Miss  Florence  Trumbull,  of  the  University  of 
Chicago. 

PROFESSORS  OF  THE  ALABAMA  POLYTECHNIC  INSTITUTE. 

For  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  I  was  greatly  assisted  in 
my  work  by  the  professors  of  the  Alabama  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute, at  Auburn,  twenty  miles  from  Tuskegee.  Drs.  William 
Leroy  Broun,  O.  D.  Smith,  N.  T.  Lupton,  P.  H.  Mell,  C.  C. 
Thach,  George  Petrie,  B.  B.  Ross,  C.  A.  Ross,  C.  A.  Carey,  and 
others  delivered  courses  of  lectures  on  mathematics,  astronomy, 
chemistry,  hygiene,  history,  and  literature.  These  lectures  were 
illuminating  and  inspiring  and  added  much  toward  the  success 
of  our  work. 

For  many  years  I  engaged  the  best  platform  and  musical 
talent  to  be  had  from  the  lecture  bureaus  and  musical  conser- 
vatories. The  expenses  incurred  I  paid  largely  out  of  the  in- 
come of  the  school,  as  a  reasonable  fee  from  the  students  and 
the  door  fees  from  the  public  were  not  sufficient  to  meet  the 
expenses  of  the  best  attractions.  These  performances  gave  to 
the  pupils  of  the  school  the  opportunity  of  hearing  some  of  the 
best  things  that  passed  through  the  country,  and  the  record  of 
the  work  done  in  the  college  from  1876  to  1909  would  not  be 
complete  without  this  statement. 

MAJOR  W.  W.  SCREWS. 

In  my  early  years  in  the  college  I  was  greatly  assisted  by 
the  complimentary  editorials  in  the  Montgomery  Advertiser 
written  by  Major  W.  W.  Screws  and  Mr.  George  P.  Keyes, 
two  of  my  comrades  in  the  war.  When  the  president  of  a 
prominent  college  complained  that  the  paper  more  warmly  in- 


3o8  REMINISCENCES. 

dorsed  Massey  than  it  did  him,  the  answer  of  Major  Screws 
was :  "I  knew  Massey  in  the  army." 

\Yhen  I  went  out  of  the  college  in  1909,  Major  Screws 
wrote  an  editorial  from  which  the  following  paragraphs  are 
taken : 

When  Dr.  Massey  retired  from  the  Alabama  Conference  Female  Col- 
lege, one  of  the  most  remarkable  careers  and  one  of  the  most  useful  in 
the  whole  history  of  Alabama  closed.  Dr.  Massey  lived  away  from  the 
strife  of  politics  and,  therefore,  away  from  the  light  of  publicity.  But  it 
is  meet  that  his  splendid  life  and  achievements  should  receive  acknowledg- 
ment. It  is  due  him,  it  is  due  the  Church  which  his  life  has  honored,  it  is 
due  the  cause  of  education  which  his  labor  has  uplifted  that  tribute  should 
be  paid  him  and  his  remarkable  work. 

Those  who  know  him  as  the  gentle  educator  can  hardly  reconcile  their 
ideal  of  him  with  that  of  the  men  who  knew  him  as  a  gallant  soldier.  It 
is  all  the  more  to  his  honor  that  this  educator  of  deep  piety  should  be 
recalled  as  the  dashing  adjutant  who  bore  himself  well  on  every  field  of 
battle. 

The  daring  are  the  tender,  it  is  said ;  and  it  is  not  incongruous  that  a 
dashing  Confederate  soldier  should  become  the  lovable  and  able  president 
of  a  school  for  girls  and  should  in  this  role  achieve  greater  success  than  he 
did  as  a  soldier. 

As  an  educator  of  young  women  his  career  has  been  without  a  parallel 
in  this  State,  not  only  in  its  length  of  activity,  covering  thirty-three  years, 
an  entire  generation,  but  in  its  influence  and  impress  upon  the  many  hun- 
dreds of  his  students  and  through  them  upon  his  Church  and  his  people. 

However  exaggerated  these  statements  may  seem,  they  are 
the  expressions  of  a  sincere  friend.  It  is  meet  that  I  should 
make  some  reference  to  him  in  my  reminiscences. 

William  Wallace  Screws  was  born  February  25,  1839,  in 
Barbour  County,  Alabama,  and  was  educated  in  Glennville 
High  School  under  such  men  as  General  Alpheus  Barker  and 
Dr.  Allen  S.  Andrews. 

We  first  met  in  1862,  when  I  was  the  adjutant  of  the  First 
Battalion  of  Hilliard's  Legion  and  he  was  a  member  of  Com- 
pany A.  In  those  times  that  tried  men's  souls  I  was  glad  to 
count  in  my  circle  of  friends  this  bright,  clean  young  man.  I 
wish  now  to  pay  him  this  tribute,  that  through  all  the  obliter- 
ating influences  of  fifty-one  years  his  generous  spirit  and  his 
manly  character  have  retained  for  him  an  honored  place  in  my 
circle  of  friends. 


REMINISCENCES.  309 

As  a  soldier  he  had  the  consecration  and  the  courage  to 
place  his  life  upon  the  altar  of  his  country.  As  a  patriot  he 
fought  for  the  rights  of  his  people  in  the  dark  days  when  it 
was  neither  popular  nor  safe  to  do  so.  As  a  public-spirited 
citizen  he  was  foremost  in  every  good  cause.  As  an  editor  he 
ranked  among  the  ablest  in  the  State.  This  brave,  strong, 
public-spirited  citizen  has  won  a  secure  place  in  the  history  of 
Alabama ;  but  it  was  in  private  life  that  he  shone  in  the  love- 
liest colors.  I  learned  from  mutual  friends  that  he  did  more 
unheralded  deeds  of  charity,  visited  more  bereaved  homes,  at- 
tended more  funerals,  and  spoke  more  cheering  words  to  the 
disconsolate  than  any  other  layman  in  Montgomery.  When 
W.  W.  Screws  passed  away  on  the  night  of  August  7,  1913, 
the  lamentation  of  the  prophet  was  realized:  "How  the  strong 
staff  is  broken,  and  the  beautiful  rod!" 

CHAUTAUQUA  AND  EDUCATIONAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 

Among  the  private  individuals  and  the  public  institutions 
that  have  modified  and  ameliorated  my  life,  I  should  not  fail  to 
mention  the  Chautauqua  Institution.  The  Chautauqua  idea 
sprang  from  the  brain  of  a  man  who  first  saw  the  light  under 
the  genial  skies  of  Alabama.  His  parents,  of  sturdy  Huguenot 
stock,  came  to  Tuscaloosa  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  State. 
On  February  23,  1832,  there  was  born  to  them  a  son  who  was 
destined  to  exercise  a  large  influence  on  the  civilization  of  the 
world.  After  living  some  years  in  their  Southern  home,  the 
family  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  whence  they  came.  Southern 
in  his  birth  and  Northern  in  his  education  and  residence,  this 
distinguished  son  of  both  sections  of  our  country  is  universal 
in  his  sympathies  and  has  done  as  much  as  any  man  I  have 
known  in  obliterating  the  bitterness  between  the  North  and  the 
South.  If  I  ever  saw  a  man  whose  name,  like  Abou  Ben 
Adhem's,  "leads  all  the  rest"  in  love  to  his  fellow  men,  that 
man  is  John  Heyl  Vincent.  He  is  always  planning  for  the 
welfare  of  the  human  race.  Dr.  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut,  one  of  his 
associates  in  the  Chautauqua  movement,  said :  "Bishop  Vin- 
cent can  think  of  more  things  before  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 


3io  REMINISCENCES. 

than  we  can  do  all  day."  In  his  plans  for  the  spread  of  useful 
knowledge  he  was  the  forerunner  of  the  University  Extension 
Movement,  which  is  doing  much  for  the  popularization  of 
learning  that  used  to  be  confined  to  the  universities. 

I  have  never  known  any  man  who  manifested  more  concern 
for  the  cultivation  of  deep  personal  piety,  for  the  right  kind  of 
family  government,  and  for  the  proper  training  of  children 
than  Bishop  Vincent.  Upon  these  essential  things  he  believes 
the  stability  of  our  civilization  depends.  His  name  will  be 
remembered  and  honored  when  the  names  of  many  captains 
of  industry  shall  have  been  forgotten. 

I  first  visited  Chautauqua  in  the  summer  of  1884.  I  made 
several  short  visits  after  this  and  would  have  gone  every  year 
but  for  my  detention  in  Alabama  in  the  interest  of  the  college. 
From  1892  till  the  year  of  her  death,  in  1912,  my  wife,  unless 
hindered  by  sickness,  paid  a  yearly  visit  to  Chautauqua.  It 
was  to  her  a  Mecca  of  inspiration.  During  the  eight  years 
from  1905  to  1912  I  spent  from  six  to  seven  weeks  in  the 
assembly.  Here  I  heard  many  of  the  finest  preachers  and  lec- 
turers in  the  English-speaking  world.  From  them  I  received 
great  mental  and  spiritual  profit.  The  benefits  I  received  were 
not,  however,  confined  to  the  public  platform.  I  found  it  a 
liberalizing  thing  to  mingle  with  cultivated  people  from  all  sec- 
tions of  our  country.  Such  association  does  away  with  some 
of  our  provincialism  without  diminishing  our  interest  in  local 
affairs.  Such  intercourse  dulls  the  edge  of  some  of  our  sharp 
prejudices  without  deadening  our  zeal  for  the  duties  that  lie 
nearest  to  us.  Such  interchange  of  civility  clarifies  our  vision, 
quickens  our  interest  in  people  beyond  our  circle,  and  enables 
us  to  fasten  our  spiritual  tendrils  on  the  universal  good  that 
comes  from  our  cooperation  in  God's  government  of  the  world. 

Lawyers  have  their  bar  associations;  physicians  have  their 
medical  associations;  scientists  have  their  special  associations 
for  comparing  notes  and  cultivating  good  fellowship.  Every 
teacher  should  belong  to  some  educational  association.  Since 
1 88 1  I  have  been  a  member  of  the  National  Educational  Asso- 
ciation and  part  of  the  time  of  the  Southern  and  Alabama 


REMINISCENCES.  311 

Associations.  I  have  made  it  a  rule  to  attend  their  sessions 
whenever  possible.  The  volumes  of  their  proceedings  have 
always  been  sent  to  me.  Through  these  agencies  I  have  been 
greatly  benefited  as  a  teacher.  I  have  been  able  to  keep  abreast 
with  the  trend  of  educational  thought  in  its  various  phases  as 
it  has  developed  from  decade  to  decade.  My  views  have  been 
enlarged.  New  methods  have  often  been  suggested.  Interest 
in  my  work  has  been  stimulated.  I  was  made  more  fully  con- 
scious that  I  belong  to  a  great  company  of  workers  all  striv- 
ing toward  the  same  noble  end.  It  is  an  inspiration  to  feel  that 
we  are  not  alone  in  our  work,  in  whatever  field  it  may  fall. 
Cooperation  is  God's  order  of  the  world's  work.  "Bush- 
whackers" never  achieve  any  great  victories  nor  gain  any  last- 
ing fame.  The  reasons  assigned  in  the  preceding  paragraph 
for  cordial  cooperation  apply  with  emphasis  in  the  case  of 
professional  teachers. 

CHANGED  CONDITIONS. 

During  the  last  years  of  my  administration  I  began  to  see 
that  the  college  would  have  to  be  moved  from  Tuskegee  if  it 
was  to  be  maintained  as  an  educational  plant  adequate  to  the 
demand  of  the  times.  Great  changes  had  occurred  since  the 
Tuskegee  Female  College  was  founded,  in  1854.  Then  there 
were  no  centers  of  population  north  of  Mobile  much  larger 
than  Tuskegee.  Then  the  population  of  the  State  consisted 
mainly  of  country  people  who  lived  on  their  plantations.  Be- 
yond the  boats  on  the  rivers,  their  means  of  travel  were  horses, 
buggies,  carriages,  and  spring  wagons.  It  was  considered  a 
small  matter  to  go  a  hundred  miles  through  the  country  to  take 
a  boy  or  girl  to  school.  The  war  completely  changed  the  status 
of  plantation  life.  Railroads  brought  about  new  and  rapid 
modes  of  travel,  built  up  new  centers  of  population,  and  con- 
centrated business  in  points  favorable  to  trade.  The  whole 
commercial  condition  of  the  State  had  undergone  a  marvel- 
ous transformation;  and  the  educational  conditions  had  also 
changed,  if  possible,  more  than  the  material.  Now,  in  the  sec- 
ond decade  of  the  twentieth  century,  public  schools  are  doing 


3i  j  REMINISCENCES. 

the  work  of  elementary  education  in  every  community.  Town, 
city,  and  country  high  schools  are  doing  much  of  the  work  that 
the  college  in  Tuskegee  formerly  did.  The  time  came  when 
there  was  little  left  for  the  college  to  do  below  the  field  of 
collegiate  education.  This  grade  of  work  cannot  be  done  with- 
out ample  endowment,  unless  generously  supported  by  the 
Church  or  by  the  State.  No  institution  can  stand  against  the 
changing  currents  of  popular  sentiment  any  more  than  a  house 
can  stand  against  the  shifting  currents  of  the  Mississippi  River. 
The  old  order  had  passed  away. 

The  money  and  land  could  be  secured  for  the  foundation  of 
an  adequate  plant  in  Montgomery,  one  of  the  railroad  centers 
of  the  State.  The  only  sensible  thing  to  do  was  to  close  the 
old  college  in  Tuskegee  and  transfer  its  influence  to  the  new 
woman's  college  in  Montgomery.  This  change  of  location 
was  the  inevitable  result  of  changed  conditions.  No  one  was 
to  blame  for  this  change;  and,  furthermore,  no  one  has  been 
injured  financially  by  the  change. 

The  old  college  cost  the  Conference,  as  I  have  stated,  about 
twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  endowment  of  the  old  college, 
which  was  turned  over  to  the  new  college  in  1909,  was  a  little 
over  sixteen  thousand  dollars.  This,  with  the  sum  realized 
from  the  sale  of  the  property,  amounted  to  considerably  mo/re 
than  the  property  cost  the  Conference,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
five  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  along  with  the  furniture,  appa- 
ratus, and  pianos,  which  went  as  my  donation  from  the  old 
college  to  the  new.  The  Conference  had  the  use  of  the  prop- 
erty in  its  own  right  for  nearly  forty  years.  During  this  time 
preachers'  daughters  were  charged  only  half  the  usual  rates. 
I  made  this  deduction  on  account  of  the  five  thousand  dollars 
of  the  Thompson  Fund  which  had  gone  into  the  college. 

The  Tuskegee  Female  College  cost  the  original  trustees  sixty- 
three  thousand  dollars.  The  people  of  Tuskegee  were  far  from 
being  financial  losers  by  their  donations  to  the  college.  It  was 
in  operation  fifty-three  years.  A  patronage  of  seventy-five 
girls  from  a  distance,  counting  boarders  in  the  college  and  in 
the  town,  is  a  conservative  annual  estimate.  Consider  the 


REMINISCENCES.  313 

money  they  brought  to  the  college  at  only  two  hundred  dollars 
apiece,  which  is  less  than  they  generally  paid,  and  it  will  be 
seen  that  fifteen  thousand  dollars  a  year  is  a  moderate  esti- 
mate. Multiply  this  by  fifty-three  years,  and  it  appears  that 
nearly  a  million  dollars  came  to  the  college  during  its  life  in 
Tuskegee.  A  large  part  of  this  was  spent  in  the  town,  besides 
considerable  sums  spent  by  teachers  and  students  not  counted 
in  this  estimate. 

The  girls  of  the  community  were  educated  for  a  half  cen- 
tury as  well  as  it  could  have  been  done  in  any  other  school  in  the 
land  at  that  time  for  about  one-fifth  of  what  it  would  have  cost 
to  send  them  off  to  college.  These  estimates  take  no  account  of 
the  refining  influence  which  an  institution  of  learning  always 
exerts  on  a  community.  Tuskegee  never  invested  in  anything 
that  paid  better  dividends  than  the  money  it  invested  in  the 
college. 

So  far  as  people  at  a  distance  who  contributed  to  the  college 
are  concerned,  they  did  not  get  their  money  back  dollar  for 
dollar;  but  if  the  college  has  exerted  the  beneficent  influence 
on  society  at  large  which  has  generally  been  attributed  to  it, 
they  have  had  their  reward  in  this  public  benefaction. 

WOMAN'S  COLLEGE  OF  ALABAMA. 

A  word  in  regard  to  the  Woman's  College  of  Alabama. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  J.  Flowers  had  for  several  years  before 
his  death  been  thinking  seriously  of  doing  something  worth 
while  for  the  benefit  of  humanity.  They  had  about  fully  deter- 
mined to  do  this  when  he  was  called  away  from  the  world. 
This  left  Mrs.  Flowers  as  the  real  promoter  of  the  college. 
She  and  her  children  knew  his  generous  intentions  and  stood 
ready  to  carry  out  his  wishes.  They  proposed  to  give  fifty 
thousand  dollars  for  the  founding  of  a  woman's  college  in 
Montgomery  upon  the  following  conditions :  That  an  approved 
site  of  ample  grounds  be  donated,  that  the  city  of  Montgomery 
give  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  that  the  two  Alabama  Confer- 
ences raise  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  each.  These  condi- 
tions were  acceded  to.  Mr.  J.  G.  Thomas  gave  fifty-eight 


3 14  REMINISCENCES. 

acres  of  land,  and  the  city  of  Montgomery  contributed  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  Two  handsome  buildings  have  been  erected, 
and  the  plant  was  (in  1913)  estimated  at  two  hundred  and 
sixty-one  thousand  dollars. 

The  success  of  the  business  side  of  the  enterprise  has  been 
largely  due  to  the  courage,  energy,  and  tact  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Dan- 
nelly,  who  was  the  financial  agent  from  the  beginning. 

\Ylien  the  trustees  were  canvassing  the  subject  of  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Woman's  College,  they  offered  the  place  to  me. 
I  appreciated  this  honorable  offer,  but  felt  it  my  duty  to  decline 
on  account  of  advanced  age  and  a  firm  belief  that  a  young  man 
could  do  the  work  better  than  one  who  had  spent  his  energies 
on  the  past  generation. 

I  consider  it  appropriate  to  make  special  mention  of  a  teach- 
er who  was  for  years  a  student  in  the  old  college  and  who, 
after  taking  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  Randolph-Macon  Woman's 
College,  was  a  most  efficient  teacher  during  the  last  two  years 
of  the  old  college  and  the  first  three  years  of  the  new,  Miss 
Sallie  C.  Maycs,  who  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of  forming 
the  vital  connection  between  the  two  institutions.  I  am  sure 
that  the  friends  she  made  in  both  colleges  with  unite  in  felici- 
tations upon  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Albert  S.  Danner  on  June 

25,  T9i3- 

BOOKER  WASHINGTON. 

In  my  travels  cither  North  or  South,  when  it  becomes  known 
that  I  live  in  Tuskegee,  the  question  is  sure  to  be  asked :  "What 
do  you  think  of  Booker  Washington?"  Almost  every  one  is 
curious  to  look  at  this  remarkable  man  through  the  eyes  of  a 
near  neighbor.  As  T  am  giving  reminiscences  of  people  I  have 
known,  I  will  not  avoid  this  question  because  there  have  been 
diversities  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  subject  of  it. 

In  the  year  1880  Hon.  W.  F.  Foster  and  Hon.  Asa  Brooks, 
respectively  Representative  and  Senator  from  Macon  County, 
had  a  bill  passed  through  the  Legislature  of  Alabama  appro- 
priating two  thousand  dollars  annually  for  the  maintenance  of 
a  normal  school  for  the  education  of  colored  teachers.  Four 
years  later  this  appropriation  was  increased  to  three  thousand. 


REMINISCENCES.  315 

George  W.  Campbell,  Esq.,  an  honored  citizen  and  the  only 
banker  in  Tuskegee  at  that  time,  Lewis  Adams,  a  colored  man, 
a  shoemaker  and  tinner  by  trade,  and  Raymond  Threat,  a  col- 
ored carpenter,  were  appointed  trustees  of  the  school.  They 
wrote  to  General  Armstrong,  of  Hampton,  Virginia,  request- 
ing him  to  send  a  man  to  take  charge  of  the  school.  General 
Armstrong  recommended  Booker  Washington,  a  young  man 
about  twenty-three  years  of  age.  He  came  in  the  fall  of  1881, 
took  charge  of  the  school,  and  conducted  it  in  an  old  church 
till  better  quarters  could  be  provided.  To  supplement  the 
State  appropriation,  contributions  were  solicited,  mainly  from 
Northern  people,  who  alone  had  the  money  to  give.  But 
money  did  not  come  in  large  sums  for  some  years.  The  school 
was  often  hard  pressed  for  means  to  meet  its  expenses  during 
its  early  history  and  was  sometimes  carried  through  its  impe- 
cunious periods  by  Mr.  Campbell,  who  never  lost  faith  in 
Washington  while  he  was  endeavoring  to  gain  the  confidence 
of  Northern  friends.  When  Mr.  Collis  P.  Huntington  was 
first  approached  for  a  donation,  he  gave  two  dollars.  Years 
afterwards,  when  he  saw  what  Washington  was  doing,  Mr. 
Huntington  gave  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

As  soon  as  Washington  could  get  the  means  he  started  a 
brickyard  and  a  carpenter  shop  and  began  trying  to  inculcate 
ideas  of  industry  and  orderly  conduct  among  the  negroes,  some 
of  whom  had  been  too  long  waiting  for  "forty  acres  and  a 
mule  from  the  government."  Thinking  that  it  would  be  a 
good  thing  to  help  the  industrial  feature  of  the  school,  I  sug- 
gested to  Dr.  Atticus  G.  Hay  good,  who  was  then  the  agent  of 
the  Slater  Fund,  that  I  believed  a  donation  would  be  worthily 
placed  at  this  point.  Dr.  Haygood  visited  the  school,  was 
pleased  with  the  work,  and  induced  his  board  to  make  an  an- 
nual contribution,  which  was  continued  for  a  number  of  years. 

Some  years  ago  a  grant  of  twenty-five  thousand  acres  of 
mineral  land  came  to  this  school  through  an  act  of  Congress, 
which  donated  the  same  number  of  acres  to  the  Girls'  Indus- 
trial School,  at  Montevallo.  Thus  out  of  the  State  appropria- 
tion as  its  first  support  and  the  old  church  as  its  first  home,  the 


3  io  REMINISCENCES. 

school  has  grown  until  it  now  has  over  one  hundred  public 
buildings,  constituting  a  plant  worth  several  millions,  and  an 
annual  patronage  of  about  sixteen  hundred  students. 

How  did  Washington  do  this?  In  a  conversation  with  an 
intelligent  citizen  about  fifteen  years  ago  we  were  discussing 
the  growth  of  the  Normal  School.  My  friend  was  apprehen- 
sive that  it  would  be  a  menace  to  the  country  when  it  got  strong 
enough  to  show  its  real  animus.  I  cited  several  facts  showing 
the  fine  discipline  of  the  school  and  the  restraints  which  Wash- 
ington preached  and  practiced.  The  gentleman  replied :  "Yes, 
he  shows  a  tact  and  a  self-control  that  are  almost  superhu- 
man." Now,  I  do  not  believe  that  tact  and  self-control  alone 
could  ever  have  accomplished  such  results. 

Some  years  ago  Washington  made  a  speech  in  Tuscaloosa. 
A  gentleman  who  heard  it  said  that  he  was  at  a  loss  to  account 
for  his  influence  over  an  audience ;  for,  said  he,  "he  is  not  an 
orator."  The  editor  of  the  paper  from  which  I  read  the  ac- 
count asked  this  question:  "Wouldn't  Pny  man  like  to  be  able 
to  exercise  the  influence  which  Washington  has  over  an  audi- 
ence, whether  of  the  most  intelligent  class  or  the  ignorant  and 
illiterate?" 

While  he  may  not  have  been  considered  an  orator  in  the 
usual  acceptation  of  that  term,  he  had  the  power  to  state  his 
thoughts  in  clear-cut,  forcible  language  and  to  elucidate  his 
meaning  by  apt  illustrations  and  sprightly  anecdotes — all  per- 
vaded by  good  humor  and  expressed  by  a  voice,  not  particu- 
larly melodious,  but  of  great  carrying  power.  No  doubt  this 
faculty  helped  him  in  his  work,  but  his  oratory  alone  fails  to 
account  for  his  achievements.  He  could  never  by  his  elo- 
quence, like  George  Whitefield,  have  induced  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin to  empty  his  whole  purse  into  the  collector's  dish.  Some- 
thing else  besides  his  tact,  his  self-control,  and  his  oratory  is 
necessary  to  account  for  his  success. 

Now.  with  a  full  share  of  innate  feeling  against  the  amalga- 
mation of  the  races,  I  have  observed  Washington  and  his  work 
from  the  beginning.  I  have  been,  I  think,  ready  enough  to 
see  any  objectionable  features  that  might  crop  out  during  this 


REMINISCENCES.  317 

extraordinary  growth.  I  have  also  been  striving  to  be  a  fair 
and  open-minded  man,  seeking  to  do  the  right  thing  by  every 
human  being. 

During  the  last  fifteen  years  I  heard  Washington  speak  in 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  and 
in  the  North,  as  well  as  here  at  home.  All  these  speeches  were 
characterized  by  the  same  sentiment  expressed  in  his  Charles- 
ton speech,  in  which  he  exhorted  his  own  race  to  cherish 
friendly  feelings  toward  the  white  people  among  whom  they 
live.  He  said  he  thanked  God  that  he  had  so  far  gotten 
the  victory  over  all  malevolent  prejudices  that  he  would  not 
harbor  in  his  breast  unkind  feelings  toward  any  man.  So 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  judge,  his  actions  at  home  and 
abroad  have  been  in  accord  with  this  sentiment.  No  provo- 
cation threw  him  off  this  line  of  pacific  conduct.  In  the 
language  of  my  friend:  "His  tact  and  his  self-control  have 
been  almost  superhuman."  This  course  has  awakened  the  idea 
of  justice  that  slumbers  in  the  human  breast,  has  appealed  to  the 
generosity  of  the  benevolent,  disarmed  the  prejudices  of  the  un- 
sympathetic, arid  opened  the  way  for  a  success  which  has  been 
wrought  out  by  most  untiring  and  unselfish  labor. 

On  a  former  page  I  have  mentioned  the  estrangement  of 
the  races  as  the  most  deplorable  result  of  the  Reconstruction 
period.  Since  the  two  races  are  to  live  here  side  by  side,  some 
amicable  plan  must  be  found  upon  which  we  can  live  in  peace. 
Animosity  always  magnifies  and  multiplies  evils,  which  dis- 
solve and  melt  away  under  the  power  of  good  will  like  dismal 
fogs  before  the  rising  sun.  I  do  not  know  any  man  who  has 
done  so  much  to  blot  out  estrangement  between  the  races  and 
bring  in  an  era  of  good  feeling  as  Booker  Washington.  Dr. 
Washington  modestly  wore  the  highest  honorary  title  con- 
ferred by  the  universities  of  this  country;  but  his  unselfish 
work,  his  peaceable  conduct,  and  his  law-abiding  example  far 
surpasses  any  complimentary  title  that  can  be  conferred. 

Born  in  slavery  in  1858,  he  lived  in  poverty  during  his  child- 
hood, worked  in  the  coal  mines  in  his  boyhood,  went  to  night 
schools,  walked  to  Hampton  Institute,  graduated  with  dis- 


318  REMINISCENCES. 

tinction.  and  taught  Indians  because  they  most  needed  help. 
He  died  on  Sunday  morning,  November  14,  1915,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-seven,  worn  out  with  overwork.  "He  that  loseth  his 
life  for  my  sake,"  said  Christ,  "shall  find  it."  Washington 
has  found  his  life  in  the  success  that  crowned  his  labors,  in  the 
good  example  he  has  left  behind  him  in  the  world,  and  in  that 
larger  life  of  the  eternal  years. 

I  have  never  known  in  this  State  any  other  man  to  go  to  his 
grave  more  honored  than  Dr.  Washington.  I  believe  that  it  is 
the  patriotic  and  humane  duty  of  all  men  to  encourage  the  good 
work  which  he  left  as  his  monument. 

TRIALS  AND  THEIR  ISSUE. 

In  my  boyhood  I  used  to  feel  an  apprehensiveness  of  danger 
which  could  hardly  be  reconciled  with  a  high  order  of  natural 
courage.  I  have  been  able  to  overcome  this  to  some  extent  by 
appealing  first  to  pride,  then  to  reason,  and  later  to  a  sense  of 
duty  and  to  confidence  in  God's  care.  I  have  thus  been  able 
to  stand  in  the  places  which  I  have  been  called  to  fill  without 
compromising  my  manhood,  though  not  always  without  some 
dread  of  danger. 

At  intervals  during  the  first  part  of  my  life  I  did  not  expect 
to  reach  the  goal  of  threescore  and  ten  years.  This  had  a 
tendency  to  depress  me.  By  cultivating  temperate  habits,  by 
cherishing  hopeful  views  of  life,  and  by  calling  on  the  Lord  to 
deliver  my  soul  from  death,  I  have  reached  more  than  four- 
score years,  profoundly  thankful  for  the  goodness  and  mercy 
that  have  followed  me  all  the  days  of  my  life. 

While  I  usually  had  the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  I  was 
achieving  a  moderate  degree  of  success,  I  was  occasionally 
made  to  realize  that  any  one  who  resolutely  performs  all  his 
duties  may  expect  to  find  a  band  of  "blue"  in  his  life's  spec- 
trum. The  colors  will  not  always  blend  in  pure  white  light  to 
shine  on  his  path.  While  trying  to  make  the  most  out  of 
children  who  did  not  always  want  to  make  the  most  of  them- 
selves. I  sometimes  caused  misunderstandings  and  called  forth 


REMINISCENCES.  319 

angry  criticisms  from  patrons  who  desired  their  children  to 
have  exceptional  privileges.  In  some  instances  these  censures 
were  so  unreasonable  and  unjust  that  my  blood  boiled  to  an- 
swer in  the  same  acrimonious  tone.  On  several  of  these  occa- 
sions my  wife  came  to  my  aid  and  advised  me  to  be  patient 
and  to  take  time  to  cool  off  till,  with  her  assistance,  I  could 
state  the  case  in  a  calm  and  respectful  manner.  By  thus  con- 
quering my  anger  and  getting  all  bitterness  out  of  my  heart  I 
was  nearly  always  able  to  reconcile  my  patrons  and  to  retain 
their  good  will  and  this,  too,  without  any  sacrifice  of  my  self- 
respect.  But  such  a  course  required  the  crucifixion  of  my  nat- 
ural impulse  to-  passionate  resentment. 

Several  times  while  I  was  running  the  college  my  wife  was 
desperately  ill  and  had  to  be  sent  away  for  treatment  and  re- 
cuperation. In  addition  to  my  solicitude  for  her  recovery,  I 
always  felt  keenly  the  lack  of  her  wise  counsel  and  courageous 
spirit,  especially  as  I  could  not  tell  in  her  absence  what  evil  in- 
fluences might  be  brooding  among  our  crowd  of  inexperienced 
girls  susceptible  to  temptations  which,  like  the  old  serpent,  were 
always  lying  in  wait  for  opportunities  to  enter.  At  such  times 
the  impatient  desire  stirred  within  me  to  get  out  of  the  fiery 
furnace  of  trial.  While  I  was  in  one  of  these  seasons  of  temp- 
tation I  saw  a  countryman  riding  along  the  street  whistling 
and  apparently  so  care-free  and  contented  that  I  longed  for  a 
quiet  little  farm  out  in  the  country,  far  from  the  consuming 
responsibility  of  taking  care  of  the  health,  the  good  name,  and 
the  moral  character  of  a  throng  of  careless  young  people.  It 
required  all  my  resources  of  reason  and  constant  recourse  to 
prayer  to  enable  me  to  stand  firm  in  those  periods  of  tribula- 
tion. Through  all  the  succeeding  years  my  heart  has  been 
singing  a  grateful  paean  that  I  was  able  to  stand,  but  conscious 
that,  like  one  on  a  dizzy  height,  I  might  have  fallen.  With 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  I  have  felt  some  of  the  triumph  of 
victory  and  some  of  the  solemnity  at  the  narrow  escape  from 
failure. 


3jo  REMINISCENCES. 

IF  THIS  WERE  FAITH. 
"If  to  feel  in  the  ink  of  the  slough 
And  the  sink  of  the  mire 
Veins  of  glory  and  fire 
Run  through  and  transpierce  and  transpire, 
And  a  secret  purpose  of  glory  in  every  part, 
And  the  answering  glory  of  battle  fill  my  heart; 
To  thrill  with  the  glory  of  girded  men, 
To  go  on  forever,  and  fail,  and  go  on  again, 
And  be  mauled  to  the  earth  and  arise, 
And  contend  for  the  shade  of  a  word  and  a  thing  not  seen  with 

the  eyes ; 

With  the  half  of  a  broken  hope  for  a  pillow  at  night 
That  somehow  the  right  is  the  right, 
And  the  smooth  shall  bloom  from  the  rough : 
Lord,  if  that  were  enough!" 

Or,  viewing  it  from  a  purely  religious  standpoint,  we  may  put 
it  in  the  language  of  St.  Paul :  "Being  justified  by  faith,  we 
have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  by  whom 
also  we  have  access  by  faith  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand, 
and  rejoice  in  hope  of  the  glory  of  God.  And  not  only  so,  but 
we  glory  in  tribulations  also:  knowing  that  tribulation  work- 
eth  patience:  and  patience,  experience;  and  experience,  hope: 
and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed :  because  the  love  of  God  [that 
is,  God's  love  to  us]  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us." 

ON  ENTERING  MY  EIGHTY-SECOND  YEAR. 
On  this  the  i6th  day  of  December,  1915,  I  am  entering  upon 
the  eighty-second  year  of  my  pilgrimage.  I  look  back  upon  my 
life  barren  of  any  results  that  can  be  seen.  I  have  planned  no 
business  enterprises.  I  have  made  no  useful  discoveries  in 
science.  I  have  founded  no  institutions  of  learning.  I  have 
failed  to  see  the  realization  of  a  well-coordinated  plan  for  the 
educational  work  of  Alabama  Methodism,  such  a  plan  of  unit- 
ed action  as  would,  I  sincerely  believe,  be  most  promotive  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  within  our  borders.  Whatever  may  have 
been  the  results  of  my  endeavors  to  lead  the  young  into  the 
just  fear  of  God,  whatever  may  have  been  the  result  of  my 
endeavors  to  keep  the  work  of  education  thoroughly  Chris- 
tian, whatever  may  be  the  outcome  of  my  efforts  to  secure 


REMINISCENCES.  321 

united  action  in  the  future,  I  am  thankful  for  every  effort  I 
have  put  forth  toward  these  ends  that  lie  in  the  realm  of  spirit 
where  character  is  formed.  I  am  thankful  that  I  have  had 
some  desire  to  aid  in  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  invisible 
spiritual  capacities  of  my  fellow  human  beings  who  have  in 
Christ  the  birthright  to  mature  in  righteous  character  and 
shine  forth  as  the  sun  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

I  am  impressed,  however,  with  the  solemn  reflection  that  my 
work  might  have  been  more  fruitful  if  I  had  made  more 
prayerful  efforts  to  live  in  an  atmosphere  of  pure  universal 
love.  But,  in  view  of  my  shortcomings,  I  am  saying  with  the 
Psalmist:  "I  will  confess  my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord; 
and  thou  forgavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  "He  only  is  my 
rock  and  my  salvation."  Jesus,  the  crucified  Saviour,  the  risen 
Lord,  the  imperial  Christ,  commands  my  adoration.  All  my 
trust  is  stayed  on  him.  Toplady's  expressive  hymn  finds  an 
echo  in  my  spirit : 

"Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee; 
Let  the  water  and  the  blood, 
From  thy  wounded  side  which  flowed, 
Be  of  sin  the  double  cure, 
Save  from  wrath  and  make  me  pure. 

Could  my  tears  forever  flow, 
Could  my  zeal  no  languor  know, 
These  for  sin  could  not  atone; 
Thou  must  save,  and  thou  alone : 
In  my  hand  no  price  I  bring; 
Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling. 

While  I  draw  this  fleeting  breath, 
When  my  eyes  shall  close  in  death, 
When  I  rise  to  worlds  unknown, 
And  behold  thee  on  thy  throne, 
Rock  of  Ages,  cleft  for  me, 
Let  me  hide  myself  in  thee." 

OUR  HOME. 

From  the  time  I  left  my  boyhood  home  in  January,  1854, 
except  for  two  years  in  the  war  and  a  short  while  in  Summer- 
field,  I  had  always  lived  in  the  buildings  of  schools  and  col- 
21 


322  REMINISCENCES. 

leges.  On  retiring  from  the  college  in  1909  it  was  a  question 
with  my  wife  and  myself  where  we  should  build  a  home  of  our 
own. 

As  the  best  evidence  of  our  high  regard  for  the  people  of 
Tuskegee,  let  it  be  remembered  that  we  decided  to  spend  our 
last  days  among  those  with  whom  we  had  lived  the  larger  part 
of  our  lives  and  with  whose  dead  we  wished  to  be  buried.  We 
bought  a  lot  nearly  opposite  the  old  college  site,  built  a  modest 
home  in  the  midst  of  graceful  shrubbery  and  lovely  trees,  the 
growth  of  half  a  century.  She  furnished  the  house  to  suit  her 
own  taste,  planted  green  lawns,  fruit  trees,  and  fragrant  flow- 
ers, till  the  place  grew  restful  in  its  attractions.  But  her  soul 
was  too  great  to  find  rest  in  any  pleasures  the  world  can  give. 
Beyond  earth's  charms  she  had  caught  a  vision  of  blessedness 
which  her  heart  yearned  to  reveal  to  those  whose  lives  had  been 
blighted  by  sin  and  suffering.  Her  feelings  were  drawn  out 
not  only  toward  the  sick,  the  destitute,  and  the  distressed 
around  her,  but  her  thoughts  flew  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  on 
wings  of  strong  desire  to  send  the  evangel  of  hope  wherever 
sin  and  sorrow  are  found.  Care  for  the  erring,  compassion  for 
the  fallen,  and  love  for  the  lost  found  a  responsive  echo  in  her 
sympathetic  spirit.  For  the  relief  of  human  woe  she  drew  on 
every  resource  at  her  command,  whether  of  mind,  body,  or 
estate.  Thus  she  lived  for  three  years  in  the  home  which  her 
own  hands  had  beautified  till,  October  21,  1912,  she  entered 
the  ministries  of  the  life  eternal,  which  to  her  meant,  as  it 
meant  to  Bishop  Marvin,  a  state  of  continued  activity,  with  the 
limitations  of  earth  removed.  The  lines  of  Richard  Watson 
Gilder,  written  on  the  death  of  Alice  Freeman  Palmer,  may 
fitly  close  this  paragraph : 

"When  fell  to-day  the  word  that  she  had  gone, 
Not  this  my  thought:  Here  a  bright  journey  ends; 
Here  rests  a  soul  unresting;  here,  at  last, 
Here  ends  that  earnest  strength,  that  generous  life — 
For  all  her  life  was  giving.     Rather  this 
I  said  (after  the  first  swift,  sorrowing  pang)  : 
Radiant  with  love  and  love's  unending  power, 
Hence  on  a  new  quest  starts  an  eager  spirit ; 


REMINISCENCES.  323 

No  dread,  no  doubt,  unhesitating  forth 
With  asking  eyes;  pure  as  the  bodiless  souls 
Whom  poets  vision  near  the  central  throne 
Angelically  ministrant  to  man. 
So  fares  she  forth  with  smiling,  Godward  face; 
Nor  should  we  grieve,  but  give  eternal  thanks — 
Save  that  we  mortal  are  and  needs  must  mourn." 


T 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

In  Memoriam:  Mrs.  E.  F.  Massey. 

kHREE  memorial  services  were  held  in  memory  of  Mrs. 
Massey.  The  first  was  held  at  the  Woman's  College,  in 
Montgomery,  on  the  Sunday  following  her  death.  Later  two 
services  were  held  in  Tuskegee,  one  by  the  resident  alumnae, 
who  had  known  and  loved  her  from  childhood,  and  the  other, 
which  forms  the  subject  matter  of  this  chapter,  by  the  women 
who  had  been  fellow  workers  in  the  upbuilding  of  the  Wom- 
an's Home  Mission  Society  and  the  Woman's  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Society. 

"God  calls  our  loved  ones,  but  we  lose  not  wholly 

What  he  has  given ; 

They  live  on  earth  in  thought  and  deed  as  truly 
As  in  his  heaven." 

Elnora  Frances  Dallas  Massey  was  born  in  Tishabee,  Greene 
County,  Alabama,  on  November  6,  1852.  The  first  seven  years 
of  her  life  were  spent  in  the  country  on  her  mother's  plantation. 
Her  father  died  in  her  early  childhood,  leaving  a  large  family 
of  children.  The  mother  gave  up  the  plantation  and  moved  to 
Summerfield,  where  there  were  good  schools  for  both  boys  and 
girls.  Some  of  the  older  children  married  and  moved  to  Texas. 
After  a  few  years  the  mother  decided  to  follow  them.  "Nonie," 
as  Mrs.  Massey  was  always  called,  was  then  about  fourteen 
years  old.  She  was  given  the  choice  of  going  to  Texas  or 
remaining  in  Summerfield  to  finish  her  education.  It  was  a 
great  struggle  for  her  to  decide  between  being  separated  from 
her  family  and  giving  up  her  only  chance  of  an  education. 
Her  niece  tells  of  finding  her  alone  praying  for  guidance. 
Her  final  choice  was  to  remain  in  Summerfield  with  her  sister, 
Mrs.  Canning. 

One  marked  characteristic  of  her  whole  life  was  her  great 
eagerness  for  knowledge.  She  was  a  most  earnest  student  as 
long  as  she  lived.  Even  after  the  condition  of  her  eyes  and 
(324) 


REMINISCENCES.  325 

health  made  reading  a  great  burden,  she  continued  her  efforts 
to  gain  useful  knowledge. 

She  graduated  in  Summerfield  under  President  W.  J. 
Vaughn,  for  whom  she  always  had  great  love  and  reverence. 
She  was  married  on  July  9,  1873,  to  John  Massey,  who  had 
two  sons  and  one  daughter  by  his  former  wife.  The  oldest 
son  died  one  year  after  his  second  marriage.  The  other  two 
children  still  live.  To  these  children  Mrs.  Massey  was  a  loving 
and  faithful  mother  throughout  her  life. 

After  their  marriage  they  lived  one  year  in  Summerfield, 
two  in  Mobile,  and  then  went  to  Tuskegee  to  take  charge  of 
the  Alabama  Conference  Female  College,  where  they  remained 
thirty-three  years.  These  early  years  were  full  of  cares  and  the 
hardest  kind  of  work.  Mrs.  Massey  gave  herself  as  a  mother 
to  every  girl  who  entered  the  school.  As  the  years  passed  and 
her  cares  and  labors  were  somewhat  relieved,  she  began  to  take 
an  active  part  in  all  the  good  work  of  the  town. 

Ten  years  before  leaving  the  college  her  health  gave  way 
completely,  and  it  became  necessary  for  her  to  be  relieved  of 
all  onerous  household  duties.  As  soon  as  she  began  to  regain 
some  degree  of  strength  she  took  up  her  Church  and  charitable 
work  with  renewed  zeal,  which  never  abated  as  long  as  she 
lived. 

The  last  three  years  of  her  life  were  spent  in  her  own  com- 
fortable home,  where  every  want  was  supplied  and  her  days 
could  have  passed  in  ease  and  rest.  But  for  her  there  was  no 
rest  while  sin  and  sickness  and  suffering  remained  in  the  world. 
Up  to  the  very  end,  along  with  her  own  increasing  burden  of 
failing  health,  she  bore  on  her  heart  the  burdens  of  the  whole 
world.  At  last  came  the  call :  "Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest."  She  obeyed  the 
call  and  has  gone  to  "the  rest  that  remains  to  the  people  of 
God." 

MEMORIAL  MEETING. 

On  November  4,  1912,  the  Woman's  Home  and  Foreign 
Mission  Societies  met  in  the  ladies'  parlor  of  the  Methodist 
church  and  held  a  memorial  meeting  in  honor  of  Mrs.  Massey, 


326  REMINISCENCES. 

whose  zeal  for  the  cause  of  missions  exerted  an  incalculable 
influence  for  the  uplift  of  the  organizations  of  which  she  was 
the  ruling  spirit.  The  meeting  was  presided  over  by  Rev.  J. 
A.  Thompson.  The  following  tributes  were  feelingly  given: 

BY  DR.  J.  A.  THOMPSON. 

If  I  were  to  speak  of  the  life  of  Mrs.  Massey  just  as  she  lived  among 
us  to  an  audience  that  had  not  known  her,  I  should  be  charged  with  the 
use  of  extravagant  language,  so  strenuous,  so  efficient,  so  beautiful  was  her 
life. 

Possessing  more  than  ordinary  natural  endowment,  she  was  a  student 
all  of  her  life,  availing  herself  of  every  opportunity  which  was  within  her 
reach.  She  kept  abreast  with  the  advancing  column  of  progress. 

She  found  a  broad  field  of  activity  by  her  intimate  relation  with  the 
Alabama  Conference  Female  College,  which  for  a  third  of  a  century  stood 
for  the  most  thorough  education  available  at  the  time. 

The  large  family  of  girls  annually  assembled  within  its  consecrated  halls 
came  under  her  skillful  formative  hand.  The  excellence  of  her  work  is 
evidenced  in  the  character  of  the  alumnae  who  adorn  the  various  walks  of 
life. 

She  possessed  a  constant  and  burning  enthusiasm  for  missions.  Her 
labors  for  this  cause  were  unceasing.  She  brought  to  it  a  thorough  prep- 
aration. Her  comprehension  of  the  cause  was  conspicuous.  I  have  thought 
that  she  was  the  best  informed  on  missions,  man  or  woman,  I  have  ever 
known.  That  knowledge  was  not  confined  to  the  Woman's  Department, 
but  embraced  the  whole  cause.  She  gave  to  it  her  time,  her  talent,  her  toil, 
and  her  means  cheerfully  and  without  stint 

As  a  member  of  the  Church  she  was  all  that  could  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected. She  was  present  at  all  the  services,  an  attentive,  devout  worshiper. 
A  friend  to  the  pastor,  her  presence  and  words  gave  encouragement  when 
she  was  herself  laboring  under  burdens  of  crushing  weight. 

Mrs.  Massey  exalted  and  illumined  every  station  in  life  which  she  was 
called  to  fill.  She  was,  indeed,  the  complement  of  the  strong  man  with 
whom  she  was  so  intimately  associated  in  the  arduous  work  of  the  college. 
No  one  so  fully  appreciated  her  worth.  I  was  in  his  study  at  the  time  of 
her  departure.  He  said :  "I  consider  it  a  great  honor  to  have  been  the  hus- 
band of  such  a  woman."  She  did  not  hear.  She  did  not  know.  But  this 
is  her  greatest  eulogy. 

She  was  a  woman  of  large  sympathy  for  all  the  distressed  conditions 
of  humanity.  She  did  what  she  could  to  alleviate  suffering.  She  was 
Mother  Bountiful  to  the  poor.  No  one  was  permitted  to  hunger  if  within 
her  reach.  She  visited  the  sick;  she  clothed  the  naked;  she  mourned  with 
the  mourners.  For  these  she  broke  the  vessel  containing  the  precious  oint- 
ment and  anointed  our  Lord  for  his  burial.  As  peacemaker  she  sought  to 
reconcile  differences  and  prevent  the  infelicities  that  spring  up  in  social 
life. 


REMINISCENCES.  327 

Those  who  knew  her  best  and  were  familiar  with  her  condition  were 
astonished  at  what  she  did.  Many  times  the  remark  has  been  made  to  me : 
"Mrs.  Massey  was  much  of  the  time  engaged  in  active  work  when  she 
should  have  been  at  home  in  her  room."  Such  was  her  zeal,  such  her  love 
for  the  Master's  work. 

Perhaps  the  most  pronounced  trait  in  her  character  was  her  absolute 
"self-effacement."  Nothing  could  induce  her  to  come  out  into  the  public 
eye. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Massey  is  a  great  loss  to  this  community.  We  per- 
haps shall  not  see  her  like  again.  A  life  so  noble,  so  unselfish,  so  efficient, 
so  productive  is  not  seen  many  times  in  a  generation. 

God  grant  that  your  society  may  indicate  your  love  for  this  grand  woman 
by  renewed  zeal  and  efficiency  in  the  things  so  near  her  heart  and  to  which 
she  gave  her  life ! 

BY  MRS.  L.  W.  JOHNSTON. 

Death  has  again  entered  our  ranks  and  claimed  one  of  our  most  beloved 
and  valuable  members.  What  sad  reflections  crowd  upon  us  when  we 
contemplate  how  great  a  loss  we  have  sustained,  not  only  as  individuals, 
but  as  societies !  We  have  gathered  here  this  afternoon  to  offer  the  tribute 
of  love  and  esteem  to  the  memory  of  one  who  was  endeared  to  many  of 
us  by  the  ties  of  friendship  and  to  all  by  the  magnanimity  of  her  nature. 
Her  death  is  a  great  grief  to  the  Church,  the  societies,  the  community, 
and  to  her  friends  and  to  loved  ones  an  irreparable  loss.  The  dearest 
memory  to  us  who  have  felt  the  pressure  of  her  hand  and  seen  the  sunlight 
on  her  face  is  the  abiding  vision  of  the  woman  herself,  as  she  lived  a  pure, 
noble,  unselfish,  and  useful  life.  We  cannot  tell  what  things  may  be  given 
her  to  do;  but  we  are  sure  that  her  higher  life  in  that  glorious  world 
will  be  one  of  activity,  of  ministry  to  others,  perhaps  to  us  in  ways  we 
cannot  understand. 

Words  fail  me  to  express  how  heavy  the  blow.  May  her  beautiful  ex- 
ample of  Christlike  faith  live  with  us  forever,  calling  us  to  higher  and  more 
glorious  things! 

BY  MISS  TSSIE  STEVENS. 

The  memory  of  a  beautiful  life  is  a  benediction.  Such  was  the  life 
and  such  is  the  memory  of  Mrs.  E.  F.  Massey,  whose  going  away  so 
recently  has  left  a  vacancy  in  our  hearts  and  ranks,  a  vacancy  that  cannot 
be  filled.  With  a  bright  and  cultured  mind  there  was  blended  a  sweet 
Christian  character  which  gave  her  an  influence  that  brightened  and  in- 
spired the  lives  of  those  who  knew  her.  Hers  was  a  large  and  generous 
personality;  great  because  as  a  little  child  she  walked  with  God  in 
humility,  seeking  not  the  fame  of  this  world,  but  striving  to  uplift  fallen 
and  suffering  humanity  in  every  way  possible.  This  sweet  and  godly  life 
will  make  the  world  more  beautiful  for  many  years  to  come.  Let  us  who 
live  carry  forward  her  works  of  love  and  mercy. 


328  REMINISCENCES. 

BY  MRS.  ERIN  I.  HOWARD. 

As  I  attempt  to  write  a  memorial  of  Mrs.  Massey  a  picture  rises  be- 
fore me  so  full  of  wonderful  strength  and  tenderness  that  I  scarcely  know 
how  to  blend  the  colors  of  a  written  page  into  a  description  of  her  life. 
The  conspicuous  elements  of  her  character  were  love  of  truth,  simplicity, 
tenderness,  and  justice.  Those  qualities  that  dominated  her  Christian  life 
were  activity  in  service,  cheerful  submission  in  suffering,  patience,  and 
forgiveness  under  wrong.  Her  friendship  was  the  same  in  quality  to  the 
servant  who  did  her  bidding,  the  neighbor  in  poverty  and  distress,  as  to 
the  cherished  friend  in  equal  station.  Verily  she  moved  among  us  as  "one 
who  delighted  to  do  good,"  spending  herself  for  the  sake  of  others,  letting 
no  opportunity  pass  through  which  she  might  lead  a  soul  to  Christ. 

Her  love  for  souls  did  not  stop  with  those  with  whom  she  came  in 
daily  contact.  She  considered  herself  a  debtor  to  the  Christless  world. 
She  loved  the  God-appointed  work  of  missions  with  a  consuming  passion. 
When  the  work  grew,  she  glorified  in  its  prosperity;  if  it  languished,  she 
agonized  over  it,  always  watching  it  with  a  love  stronger  than  life.  To 
this  cause  she  gave  her  service,  her  means,  her  talents.  Such  lives  do  not 
end.  The  "mortal  having  put  on  immortality,"  she  is  still  a  fellow  worker 
with  her  Lord  and  so  with  us  in  the  interest  of  his  kingdom.  Let  us  look 
forward  to  the  coming  of  the  morn  when  "those  angel  faces  smile  which 
we  have  loved  long  since  and  lost  awhile." 


BY  MRS.  D.  E.  L.ASLIE. 

Tt  is  with  an  effort  that  I  attempt  to  pay  an  humble  tribute  to  our  be- 
loved friend  and  leader.  In  the  first  place,  all  that  her  friendship  meant  to 
me  can  never  be  put  into  words.  In  the  second  place,  her  life  of  unselfish 
devotion  to  the  Master's  cause  speaks  so  eloquently  for  itself  that  there  is 
nothing  left  to  be  said. 

I  have  sat  at  her  feet,  physically  and  spiritually,  since  the  days  of  my 
earliest  childhood,  and  the  love  I  felt  for  her  then  has  only  grown  deeper 
and  purer  as  my  maturer  judgment  has  enabled  me  to  see  and  appreciate 
the  manifold  beauties  of  her  character.  No  eulogy  I  may  pronounce  can 
add  to  the  luster  which  surrounds  her  name.  Who  of  us  that  have  felt 
the  influence  of  her  dominant  personality,  have  listened  to  her  loving  coun- 
sel, or  known  her  gentle  ministrations  in  sickness  or  sorrow  could  ever 
forget  it?  Her  clear  insight  into  the  spiritual  world,  her  unwavering  faith 
in  God  made  her  presence  a  benediction  in  the  home  where  trouble  or  grief 
had  entered.  There  is  hardly  a  family  in  town  that  does  not  recall  a 
time  when  she  brought  comfort  and  strength  in  their  hour  of  need. 

With  an  uncompromising  attitude  toward  sin  she  combined  a  compas- 
sionate pity  toward  the  sinner.  More  than  one  whose  feet  had  strayed  have 
felt  her  firm  hand  lift  them  from  the  depths  of  despair.  None  ever  sank 
too  low  for  her  to  cease  to  believe  that  the  divine  spark  still  lived  and  that 
there  was  a  chance  for  reclamation. 


REMINISCENCES.  329 

The  -scope  of  her  charitable  activities  was  so  great,  her  self-forgetfulness 
so  absolute,  as  to  constitute  a  great  tax  on  her  failing  strength.  We  have 
all  seen  her  on  errands  of  mercy  or  lending  the  inspiration  of  her  presence 
to  these  meetings  when  her  physical  condition  did  not  warrant  her  being 
out  of  bed. 

Her  tomb  was  built  of  bricks  from  the  dear  old  college  in  which  she 
had  spent  thirty-three  years.  It  seemed  to  me  a  beautiful  thing  that  the 
walls  which  had  so  long  been  her  home  should  shelter  all  that  was  earthly 
of  her  to  the  end  of  time. 

Dr.  Grogan,  of  Montgomery,  in  the  memorial  held  there,  extracted  from 
this  fact  a  thought  worthy  to  be  remembered.  He  said  that,  while  all  that 
was  mortal  of  her  was  inclosed  in  the  old  college  bricks,  her  soul,  her  high 
ideals,  infused  into  the  hearts  and  characters  of  so  many  of  the  women  of 
Alabama,  would  live  on  and  on  into  eternity. 

I  cannot  close  without  a  word  about  our  beloved  Dr.  Massey.  His 
devotion  to  her  is  too  well  known  for  comment.  She  was  the  lodestar 
of  his  life,  and  yet  the  simple  dignity  and  grandeur  with  which  he  has  met 
this  overwhelming  grief  transcends  anything  I  can  say.  It  can  only  be 
described  by  Goldsmith's  beautiful  simile: 

"As  some  tall  cliff  that  lifts  its  awful  form, 
Swells  from  the  vale  and  midway  leaves  the  storm, 
Though  round  its  breast  the  rolling  clouds  are  spread, 
Eternal  sunshine  settles  on  its  head." 

We  have  lost  a  friend,  one  whose  place  in  our  hearts  and  lives  cannot 
be  filled ;  but  may  her  death  only  help  us  to  realize  as  never  before  that 

"The  tomb  is  not  an  endless  night: 

It  is  a  thoroughfare,  a  way, 
That  closes  in  a  soft  twilight 
And  opens  in  eternal  day" ! 

RESOLUTIONS  OF  RESPECT. 

Whereas  our  Heavenly  Father  in  his  inscrutable  wisdom  has  removed 
from  earth  in  the  prime  of  her  consecrated  usefulness  Mrs.  Elnora  Frances 
Massey;  and  whereas  for  more  than  thirty  years  she  stood  at  the  fore- 
front of  the  influences  that  have  tended  to  righteousness;  and  whereas 
in  her  latter  years,  when  she  was  relieved  of  the  heavy  burdens  of  college 
life,  she  became  a  leader  among  women  and  by  her  engaging  personality 
and  spiritual  strength  infused  much  of  the  enthusiasm  she  felt  in  the  cause 
of  missions  into  the  society  of  which  she  became  the  ruling  spirit  and 
honored  President ;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved,  That  in  her  death  our  society  has  sustained  an  irreparable 
loss,  but  a  loss  which  is  her  gain,  in  her  translation  from  earthly  pain  to 
the  joys  of  Paradise. 

Resolved,  That,  inspired  with  the  memory  of  her  beautiful  life,  we  will 


330  REMINISCENCES. 

pray  that  its  influence  may  go  on  and  find  its  outcome  in  lives  of  greater 
efficiency  and  consecration. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  our  deepest  sympathy  to  her  loved  ones,  who 
in  their  daily  walk  will  sadly  miss  her  genial  companionship. 

Resolved,  further,  That  copies  of  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the 
minutes  of  our  society  and  be  sent  to  the  bereaved  household  and  to  the 
Alabama  Christian  Advocate. 

By  order  of  the  President.  MRS.  C.  H.  COBB, 

MRS.  S.  L.  BREWER, 

Committee. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


"Miff* 


|AYfl5J38 
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JUL 


Form  L9-42m-8,149(B5573)444 


THE  LIBRARY 


F326       Massey  - 


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F 

326 

M38A2 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA      000020146 


